Foolish, Foolish Heart
by donna79
Summary: Set ten years after high school. Julie is looking for a change. Portman is tired of being alone.
1. Losing Touch

Story Title: Foolish, Foolish Heart 

**Summary: Set ten years after high school. Julie is making drastic changes in her life. Portman is tired of being alone. Can they make things work?**

**Pairing: Julie/Adam for now.**

**Rating: T for now, nothing too major.**

**AN: Guess who's been writing again? Sorry it took me so long, but I've had a lot to deal with in the past several months. I know I said that I was going to post the last part of the trilogy, but I had a great idea for a new story. I hope all of you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I haven't own them any other time I've written one of these. Do you think something has magically changed since then? I didn't think so.**

Julie Banks knew all marrriages had there rough spots. But she was at a loss as to who to make hers work. It didn't help that he husband Adam was never there. Long enough to sleep most nights then he was gone again first thing the next morning. She felt like she raising their kids alone.

How do you tell someone to pull their weight without staring an argument? She didn't know; but she wished that she did. To make matters worse her best friend was over a thousand miles away in New York. She had people she could talk in Minneapolis, but no one that knew her the way Connie did.

"Momma?" Her daughter said standing next to her.

"Hmm?" Julie said running a hand through the girls curls.

"I'm hungry; and Nate needs to be changed. He's wet."

"Okay, I'll be right there." Julie said with a nod.

Peyton was only four, but she knew what was going on with her parents. Julie that she had been doing a good job of hiding it. She'd just have to try a little harder.

Julie walked through the back door hearing Peyton playing with Nate in the living room. She stood against the door jamb watching them interact. At six months Nate looked like Adam while Peyton looked like Julie. She saw the same hopefullness in her little girls eyes that she used to have. What had happened to that woman?

XXXX

It had been a long, hard day. All Charlie wanted to do was pop open a beer and forget about the day. The papers weighing down his briefcase reminded him that he'd be grading papers all night.

Being a high school History teacher wasn't what he had envisioned for himself while still in high school. But he had married young, with the hope of starting a family. So he had been practical; eight years and no kids later he was still happy with the decision. Even if his wife wasn't.

He set his jacket and briefcase on the bench by the door as he pulled his tie loose. His wife could be heard in their bedroom so he made his way down the hall.

Linda was moving around the room gathering her things. Three suitcases sat open on the bed as she gathered clothes from the closet.

"Hon?" Charlie said breaking the silence.

Linda froze where she was. She slowly turned not meeting his gaze.

"What are you doing?" He asked entering the room.

"I'm leaving." She said gathering enough courage to look at him.

"What?"

"Charlie this isn't working. I'm not happy anymore."

"We can make this work." He said walking over to her.

He reached out to her but she moved out of reach. She shook her head with a sigh.

"You haven't done anything wrong. I don't want you to think that this is your fault."

"How long have you felt this way?"

"A couple of months. There are seperation papers on the kitchen table. I need you to sign them before I leave." She said going back to what she was doing.

Charlie walked out of the room making his way to the kitchen. Sure enough there were papers sitting at his spot at the table. He slowly picked them up with his eyes shut.

The papers felt heavy in his hands. He slowly opened them his eyes feeling the sting of tears. He blinked them back not wanting to cry while Linda was there. He didn't need her feeling sorry for him.

He read the document carefully before shaking his head. Part of him didn't want to sign them. He wanted to make his marriage work. But he knew that wasn't what Linda wanted. He signed them with a shaky hand before silently walking out the front door. He didn't want to be their when she left. He didn't know if he could live there without her.

XXXX

Connie felt bad for making Julie wait two weeks before coming out to see her. She couldn't get away from work. She knew Julie needed her there by the sound of her voice. She had never heard her best friend sound so strained or stressed.

Julie was waiting at the gate when Connie stepped out of the terminal. Connie smiled seeing her God Daughter and God Son. Nate had changed so much in the four months since she had seen him last.

Julie gave her a weak smile as she hugged Peyton tightly. Connie met her eyes over the little girls shoulders and returned the smile with a reassuring one.

The ride to Julie's was filled with silence. Once they were home Peyton went across the street to play. Julie put Nate down for a nap while Connie sat on the front porch. Julie came out with the baby monitar a minute later.

"So, what's been going on?"

"I don't know where to begin." Julie said with a sigh.

"Where's Adam?"

"He's been staying at Guy's a lot. Charlie's living with him now."

"Why? Did something happen between him and Linda?"

"She left him."

"Bitch." Connie said under her breath.

"Just because you never liked her doesn't make her a bad person."

"You always have been non-confrontational off the ice. How did we become best friends again?" Connie asked teasing her.

"You know what? I don't know." Julie said laughing.

Connie wrapped her arms around Julie's shoulders. Julie lay her head on Connie's shoulder feeling herself relax.

"Are you still having trouble getting Adam to talk to you?"

"I can't get him to stay around long enough. When he is her I'm usually already in bed. Then he slips out early the next morning."

"Why don't you go over to Guys and talk to him? I'll watch Peyton and Nate."

"I've tried forcing him to talk already. All it got me is an hour of yelling and a night of crying."

"I'm sorry." Connie said rubbing her shoulder.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Do you still love him?"

"I do, but I think his opinion of me has changed." Julie said sniffling.

"Uh-uh, you are not gonna cry. I won't let you."

Julie wiped her eyes knowing Connie was right. She was glad that she would be around for a little while. Even if was for only a week. Julie was going to take what she could get.


	2. Endings and Beginings

**AN: As you can tell from the first chapter this story is going to have it's fair share of drama. I hope that doesn't drive someone of you away. Because it's not all going to be like that. As usual, let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. So don't sue me, please?**

He couldn't believe that he was going through with this. He couldn't imagine being happier than he was right now. Today Fulton Reed was getting married. It had been a long road to get to this, but it had been worth it. He felt bad for Charlie and Julie because they were two of his closest friends. But he refused to sympathize with Adam, they had never seen eye to eye. And now he couldn't understand him at all.

He wasn't going to let anything get him down today. Sara would kill him if he let his friends problems bring him down. She liked Julie and Charlie almost as he did. But this day was about them.

XXXX

Julie was rushing trying to get Peyton to put her shoes on while Adam and Connie got Nate ready.

"Mommy I don't want to wear them." Peyton said pouting.

"Peyt please, we're running late. I have to be there in fifteen minutes."

"She still won't put her shoes on?" Connie asked from the door.

"I think they're too small." Julie said over her shoulder.

"I can take her to get a new pair. You need to leave."

"Is the baby ready?"

"Adam's putting him in the car now."

"Let me give you some money." Julie said standing.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"Thanks." Julie said giving her a grateful smile.

Julie and Adam left a few minutes later. It started to snow on the way to the church. Julie looked in the rearview mirror to check on the baby. He was playing with the mirror attached to his seat with a smile. She then looked over at Adam. He kept his eyes on the road not acknowledging her when she placed a hand on his.

XXXX

Portman stood next to Fulton, the both of them trying to fix their ties. He felt like he was at senior prom again. Only this time they were old enough to drink. He'd probably end up smashed while Fulton tried to convince everyone that he wasn't.

"Man, we look like chumps." He said letting out an aggravated sigh.

"You do, I look good." Fulton said running his fingers through his hair.

Portman stared at his best friend with a smile. His hair was shorter, but other than that he was the same old Fulton. He'd still take someone down just for looking at a friend the wrong way. He could still intimidate someone just by looking at them, everyone except Julie and Portman.

Julie. He hadn't seen her in ten years. He talked to her every once in a while. He'd sent her flowers when both of her kids had been born. How could have lost contact with her? Granted Adam wasn't his favorite person. But that didn't mean that he should have lost touch with Julie.

"I'm gonna go see if anyone is here." He said straitening his tie one last time.

"If you see Charlie tell him I want to talk to him."

"Will do." He said opening the door.

"And be nice to Adam."

"That I can't promise." He said before walking out.

He walked down the hall looking down at his watch. He almost collided with someone making him look up.

"Hey Portman, you wouldn't knock down a defenseless woman carrying a child would you?" Connie asked with a teasing smile.

"Sorry." He said with a smile.

"Hi."

"This is Peyton."

"Hi Peyton." He said still smiling.

"Connie could you bring her in here?" Adam asked sticking his head out of a room.

"Sure. See you later." She said hugging with one arm.

"Hey." He said as Adam looked him up and down.

"Hey." Adam said before shutting the door.

Portman let out a deep sigh as he continued down the hall. He saw Charlie a few doors down with someone who had their back to him. He stopped a few feet away.

Charlie moved to the side when he heard someone behind Julie.

"Hey man." He said with a smile.

"Hey." He said rubbing his neck.

Julie turned around when she heard his voice. She smiled up at him as Nate pulled at her necklace.

"I'll take him." Charlie said taking Nate from her.

"Fulton wants to see you." Portman said before he walked away.

Julie waited until Charlie walked away before saying anything.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"I don't get a hug?"

"I can do that." He said pulling her to him.  
"So how have you been?"

"Good. How 'bout you?"

"I can't complain." She said still holding onto him.

"So that's your son?"

"Yeah, that's Nathan."

"Cute kid."

"Thanks."

"I met Peyton a few minutes ago."

"You did?"

"Yeah. She's not afraid of anything is she?"

"No." She said with a laugh.

"She looks like you."

"Thanks."

Charlie stopped beside them with Nate reaching for Julie. Julie let go of Portman before taking him.

"I should go check on Peyton." Julie said before walking away.

Charlie walked with Portman to the sanctuary. He knew Portman had his reasons for not keeping in touch. Fulton was the only one who knew the real reason. Portman was quiet while they checked on things. Charlie made the decision to talk to him before he left.

XXXX

Connie sat with Guy while Fulton and Sara had their first dance. It had been a good day. Even Adam was acting like his old self. Julie sat with Nate asleep in her lap while Adam and Peyton danced.

Portman had kept a close watch on Adam and Julie. It was like when they were younger. He couldn't help but be protective of her. Even if it wasn't his job anymore. He felt bad for not coming to their wedding. But he was busy with school.

Julie had said that she understood. It couldn't have been easy paying for college himself. She was just glad that he was there now. She tried to tell herself talking to him every couple of months was enough. She would belying if she said she hadn't missed him.

Fulton stood in front of Julie; she looked up smiling at him.

"Do you want to dance?"

"He's asleep."

"I'll take him." Connie said gently taking Nate.

Julie followed Fulton onto the dance floor. They danced in silence until someone tapped on his shoulder. He looked over Julie's shoulder and saw Portman. Fulton let go of Julie then Portman looked down at his feet.

"Come on." Julie said rolling her eyes.

"What about Adam?"

"Would you rather dance with him?"

"You know what I mean." He said giving her a serious look.

"I'll handle it."

They danced until the song ended. Neither of them as the song changed. Adam walked up to them avoiding Portman's gaze.

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

"I'll talk to you soon."

"Come by, I'm tired of talking to you on the phone. You don't live that far away."

"I'll see what I can do."

Julie and Adam drove home in silence. Once the kids were in bed Adam said that he needed to talk to her. They went into the bedroom and shut the door.

"What's wrong?" Julie asked as she changed.

"Did you have to invite him to come over?"

"Portman? He is my friend."

"Do I have to be here?"

"What is with you?"

"We've never gotten along. You know that."

"You can't try? Not even for me?"

"Just invite him over when I'm not here."

"Fine." Julie said with a sigh.

Adam turned over facing away from her once she got into bed. She lay on her side facing him watching him sleep. When had things changed between them? She thought that having Nate would change things. They had for a couple of months. But Adam had gone back to being the disappearing husband three months ago. Julie was at a loss as to what to do.


	3. Unexpected Help

**AN: So what do you guys think so far? It's not what I'm used to writing so I'm out of element right now. This chapter isn't as drama and stress loaded so I hope that you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own them, but it's a nice thought.**

Julie was laying on the couch when someone knocked on the door. She blinked trying to adjust to the sunlight when she opened the door.

"You were sleeping. I am so sorry. I'll come back later." Fulton said starting to turn to walk back down the stairs.

"Fulton come inside." Julie said rubbing her eyes.

"You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. I'm craving adult conversation."

"Rugrats driving you nuts?"

"No more than usual. So what's up?"

"Portman called me. He said he got a chance to talk to you."

"We talked for a while." She said nodding.

"You didn't tell him about Adam?"

"Why would I do that?"

"He's a lawyer Jules, he could give you some advice."

"I'm not looking to divorce Adam." She said shaking her head violently.

"I didn't say you were. But at least get a lawyer's perspective. It doesn't have to be Portman if you don't want it to be."

"I don't need a lawyer."

"Then what about marriage counseling? Sara could help you find someone."

"That I'll think about. But I can't promise that Adam will do it."

"Look, here's Portman's number. Think about what I said." He said writing the number down on a piece of paper.

She took it from him not planning to use it. She knew the two of them were just doing it because they cared. She was grateful to have them in her life. But she wasn't used to them butting in the way they were.

Fulton left when Nate woke up. Julie promised that she would think about calling Portman if things got worse. She needed to call Connie and get her opinion. She dialed Connie's number hoping that she was home. She didn't like calling Connie while she was working. After the fourth ring the answering machine kicked in.

"Hey, it's me. Call me when you get a chance. I need to talk to you. It's kind of important. Bye."

She hung up the phone with a sigh. She looked at the piece of paper laying on the coffee table in front of her. It wouldn't hurt just to call him. She didn't even have to bring up what was going on with Adam.

With a sigh she dialed his number. Nate made noises from his play pin making her look over at him with a smile.

"Dean Portman, how can I help you?"

"You sound serious, I almost believed you."

"Jules?"

"Yeah. I talked to Fulton earlier. He gave me your number."

"So how have you been?"

"Since Saturday? Fine."

"Not great?"

"I could be better. But I didn't call to dump my problems on you."

"You can if you want. I won't pass judgment on you."

"How much did Fulton tell you?"

"That you and Adam are having problems. He didn't tell me willingly, I had to bug it out of him."

"What all did he tell you?"

"That Adam spends all of his time at the precinct. And that you aren't getting through to him."

Julie felt tears burn her eyes as she sighed. She let out a ragged sigh as silence filled the line.

"What else is going on?"

"Is Dean Portman the lawyer asking? Or is my friend Portman?"

"I'll always be your friend Jules. But something needs to be done."

"I've tried. Nothing has worked."

"What about counseling?"

"Adam wouldn't go. He had to deal with that when his parents got divorced."

"I don't know what else to tell you. You can call me whenever you want."

"I know."

"I need to go; I have a meeting. But I should be home by six if you want to call me then."

"That'd be great."

"I'll talk to you then."

Julie hung up the phone wiping her eyes. Things had to change, and soon. Or she was going to lose her mind.


	4. Mixed Feelings

**Disclaimer: Yes I do own them, Charlie says hi. If you believe what I just said you must be really gullible.**

Connie had been trying to work for two hours. She was contemplating throwing her pencil and drawing book out the window when the phone rang.

"God bless you whoever you are." She said answering the phone.

"Why thank you. Back at ya."

"Geeger!"

"I'd be glad if you never called me that ever again."

"You know you love it, don't lie."

"So what are you up to?"

"Trying not to pull my hair out."

"Is work that bad?"

"I have to rework a design. It's just not working."

"It must suck being a high demand fashion designer."

"No more than trying to run two business'."

"I didn't go to business school for nothing."

"And I didn't go to design school for nothing."

A door opened on Guy's end and someone could be heard opening cabinets.

"Is that Charlie?"

"No it's Adam. They just got back from practice."

"Put you foot down and make him go home."

"I'm not getting in the middle of it." He said just above a whisper.

"Wuss."

"I am not! Charlie needs him just as much as he needs me. They are best friends."

"See, that's difference between you and me. I'm not afraid of him."

"You're not afraid of Portman either."

"I know him better than you do."

"How have you been doing?" He asked changing the subject.

"Fine. Just a little swamped. Fashion week is coming up, and I'm nowhere near ready."

"How much time do you have?"

"A month."  
"You're still coming to the class reunion aren't you?"

"I had planned on it."

"Well, don't work too hard."

"You either."

"Your job is more stressful than mine."

"Yes, but I don't have two."

"Okay, so we both need to relax and settle down."

"I'm not going to though."

"Yeah, me neither. I like chaos."

Connie laughed before stretching.

"Take a break and go out."

"I need to get this done."

"It will still be there tomorrow."

"Damn you Germaine, you talked me into it."

"Glad I could be of service."

"Jules called me earlier, she said it was important. Do you know what it's about?"

"No. I haven't talked to her."

"I'll call her while I get ready."

"Have fun."

"I'll have fun for the both of us."

"Aww, you do care."

"Sure do."

"I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay."

"Bye."

"Bye."

She was drying her hair when the phone rang again. She ran across the apartment cursing herself for not bringing it back to her room.

"Hello?" She said breathlessly.

"I didn't catch you at a bad time did I?"

"Hey Jules, no you didn't."

"I was just calling to see how you were."

"I'm good, busy but good. I was about to call you."

"About that message that I left on your machine. It's taken care of."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Was it about Adam?"

"Yes and no. Fulton came by this morning. He gave me Portman's office number. I was calling you to get your opinion on if I should call him."  
"You called him right?"

"Yeah. But it didn't help anything. Not that I expected it to. But it felt good to talk to him."

"He always did have that affect on you."

Julie was quiet as she thought of something to say.

"How are the Rugrats?"

"They're good."

"Well good. I better let you go. I promised Guy that I'd take a break from working. So I'm going out on a date."

"Who's the guy?"

"His name is Chase."

"Let me know how it goes."

"You'll get all the details tomorrow."

"I can't wait." Julie said with a laugh.

Connie hung up a few minutes later saying a silent prayer that her friend would soon be happy.

XXXX

Charlie and Adam stood on Guy's deck drinking beer and talking. Charlie appreciated that Adam was there; but he knew that Adam was avoiding going home. He had been meaning to have a talk with him and now was as good a time as any.

"I need to ask you something." Charlie said breaking the silence.

"What?"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to--"

"Is this about Julie?"

"Well, yeah."

"I don't how to explain it."

"Are you fighting?"

"No, I'm not there enough for that to happen."

"Are you cheating on her?"

"What!?"

"It's just a question." Charlie asked raising his hands in surrender.

"No. I'm not cheating on her."

"Then what's going on?"

"I don't feel the same way I used to about her."

"You mean you don't love her anymore?"  
"I don't think I do."

"All of the feelings you had for her are gone?"

"I feel like I'm staying married to her because of Peyton and Nate."

"Well it's good that you're thinking of them. But what about Julie? You need to be honest with her."

"I know."

"Look, go home and talk to her. You're not doing her any favors by running from her."

Adam left without saying anything. Hopefully he would do the right thing and try to make things work with Julie.


	5. A Little Free Advice Never Hurt Anyone

**Disclaimer: I don't own the ducks. I just own the movies.**

**It has been two years since I have even read this story. I had to re-read it to get familiar with it again. As always, review, review, review. It's like candy to me.**

Julie nervously tapped her foot against the couch as she waited for someone to pick up. After the fifth ring she pulled the phone away from her ear.

"Hello?"

Julie put the phone back to her ear as she heard his voice on the line.

"Hey." She said shyly.

"Well hey. You alone?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"It's unusually quiet on your end."

"It's their cousin's birthday today. Adam's mom came and got them a little while ago."

"Why didn't you go?"

"Joanna understood when I told her I wasn't up to it this year. I'd just bring everybody down."

"Did Adam go?"

"He's heading over after work."

"How have you been?"

"Frustrated, hurt. I'm a bunch of different things right now."

"Adam still won't tell you what's going on?"

"No. It makes me nervous that he can act like nothing's wrong."

"You need to talk to him."

"I know."

"Force him if you have to. It's not going to be easy."

"I know."

"I know you know. I can come over if you think you'll need someone there."

"I won't. Adam has never so much as raised a hand to hit me. I doubt he'll start now."

Julie hung up a few minutes later, only to have the phone ring again a minute later. She checked the Caller ID seeing Fulton's number.

"'Lo?"

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Portman just called me."

"That was fast. I just got off the phone with him."

"Okay, so maybe I was with him when he talked to you."

"So now the truth comes out."

"I didn't want to scare you."

"Why?"

"What I'm gonna say you're not gonna like."

"Then be forwarned that I just might hang up on you."

"I'll take my chances. You need to be honest with yourself. I'm about to ask you something and I want you to give an honest answer."

"Okay." Julie said bracing herself for what would happen next.

"Are you happy? I mean honestly happy? Because you put on a brave face for everybody else."

"No, I'm not happy." She said as tears stung her eyes.

"Do you want to be?"

"Is Portman with you?"

"He's inside. Now answer me."

"Of course I want to be happy Fulton."

"Then do something about it."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I'm not saying that you need to leave him. But you've go to do something. You can't keep lying to yourself.

"I know." She said as tears started to fall.

"I didn't mean to make you cry."

"Don't worry about it. I needed a wake up call. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Julie hung up a minute later. SHe sat down on the couch pulling her knees to her. She rested her head on her knees as sobs racked through her. She was at a loss as to what to do. She knew she needed

to confront Adam, but she never knew how he would react lately. She didn't want to deal with him blowing up at her. If he did she'd just have to push back just as hard. She was tired of being nice and letting him

walk all over her.


	6. Hiding From The Truth

**Disclaimer: I still don't own them. But I do own Peyton and Nate.**

He sat on his bed with his phone in his hand. He had all the numbers punched in except the last one. He knew Linda would be civil, she had been for the past three weeks since he left. But he also knew that her opinion hadn't changed. That's what stopped him from dialing. He couldn't understand where things had gone wrong. Had he not been there enough for her? Did he not tell her that he loved her enough? He tried to remember times that he had done either of those things. And the fact was that he had been a wonderful husband. He had done all of the things he should have. So what would make someone fall out of love with someone they claimed to have loved for years before? He didn't know the answer, and that scared him. He punched in the last number and hit send before he could lose his nerve. He needed to hear her voice. The phone rang five times before she answered.

"Hello?" She said sounding tired.

"Hey." He said just above a whisper.

"Charlie, what are you doing calling here so late?" She asked sounding more alert.

"I needed to hear your voice. I miss you."

"You can't keep doing this." She said with a sigh.

"I can't help it if I still want to be with you."

"I filed the divorce papers this morning."

"What?" He asked hoping that he had heard her wrong.

"You should be getting them in the next few days."

"I won't sign them."

"Charlie please. I don't like hurting you. I feel guilty enough as it is. Just please sign them."

"No."

"I'm not asking for anything from you. I don't even want spousal support. I don't want your money."

"If we could just talk face to face-"

"I can't. I have to go."

"Linda wait-"

She hung up before he could finish what he had to say. He hung up the phone wishing that there was some way that he could get her to listen. As many times as she had said nothing was his fault he still felt like there was something he could have done something to save their marriage.

XXXX

Julie glanced at the clock as she saw the head lights flash across the wall. Adam's car could be heard pulling up in the driveway. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to control her breathing. She knew what was about to happen wasn't going to be easy to deal with. She wished that she had called Adam's mom to take Peyton and Nate for the night so that they wouldn't have to hear what was going on. But if she had she knew Adam would suspect something.

Adam walked into the room undoing his holster. His gun and badge were placed on the dresser as he undid his belt. His shirt was next before he sat on the bed to take off his shoes. Julie watched him as she sat on her side of the bed.

"Why are you up so late?" He asked over his shoulder.

"We need to talk." She said in a calm voice.

He turned to face her giving her a curious look.

"Things need to change between us."

"Like what?"

"The fact that you're never here for one thing."

"I'm here now." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"How can you act like nothing is wrong?" She asked as tears formed in her eyes.

"If you have a problem with the way things are going then you need to tell me." He said in an agitated voice.

"I'm not the one who's running from our problems."

"Maybe I deal with things differently than you do." He said as he got off of the bed.

"I want to be with you. And I want to help you. I can't do that if you won't let me in."

"I don't want or need help. I can handle things on my own."

"What has happened to you?"

"A lot of things. And I don't want to take them out on you."

"So you would rather run than work through them?"

"I can handle this on my own."

"Yeah I can tell." Julie said as she got off the bed.

She made her way across the room to the door.

"Julie." He said in a small voice.

"What?" She answered as she opened the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to sleep downstairs." She said before walking out of the room.

Adam nodded before she closed the door. He didn't like pushing her away anymore than he liked lying to her. He knew she would eventually get tired of dealing with him and leave. He didn't understand why she hadn't left a year and a half ago when everything started.

XXXX

Julie turned over on the couch hoping to fall asleep. She had hoped that confronting Adam would be a wake up call. Now she had to take drastic measures. She didn't like the idea of going to see Connie without Adam. But maybe a week or two away from him would do them both some good. She needed to clear her head and figure out where to go from here. She loved Adam with everything she had, it hurt her to know that he felt that he couldn't come to her with his problems.

She would call Connie first thing to see if it was okay for her and the kids to come up. If she couldn't stay with Connie she could always go see her parents. She didn't see them as much as she would like. She hoped that Adam understood when she told him. She would be upfront and honest with him. She would make sure that he understood that she wasn't leaving for good and that she wanted to work things out when she got back.

XXXX

Adam stared at the ceiling wishing that things could be different. He knew he shouldn't be putting Julie through what he was putting her through. She deserved better. He was ready for whatever happened next. If Julie wanted a divorce it was his own fault.

He remembered happier times as he tried to fall asleep. Times when neither of them could do no wrong. Back when Julie thought he roped the moon and he would have done anything to make her happy. He could pinpoint when he realized that something wasn't exactly right.

Peyton was almost three and Julie had been talking about having another baby. They had been trying for a year to get pregnant. Julie was patient saying that it would eventually happen while Adam blamed himself. His father's voice echoed in his head telling him that he was a failure yet again.

He had tried to brush it off like nothing was wrong for a while. But around the time Julie got pregnant with Nate Adam realized that his fears were right. He was a terrible husband and father and nothing was going to change that.

Once Nate was born he was happy for a while. But eventually his fathers voice came back and the dark cloud that followed him came back as well. Why couldn't he just tell Julie it wasn't her fault? She probably wouldn't believe him, thinking that she had done something to push him away.

Maybe he should start going to see his therapist again. Julie didn't even know that he had been going. He had started going while she was pregnant with Nate. It had been six months since he had last gone. He would make an appointment in the morning.

**I hate to end it on a climatic note like this but I had to end it sometime. Click the little purple/blue button to find out what happens next. ****After you leave a review that is.**


	7. A Change of Scenery

**Disclaimer: Nope, nothing's changed from the last time. I still don't own them.**

Connie waited at the gate for Julie and the kids to step off the plane. She was going to rip Adam a new one when she saw him again. She didn't care what Julie said. Nothing would stop her unless Portman or Fulton held her back. And she wasn't counting on that happening. She chuckled imagining the situation. The two of them would more than likely join in.

Julie walked through the doors with Nate on her hip and Peyton holding onto her hand. She had a bag slung over one shoulder while Peyton pulled a suitcase behind her. She looked exhausted as Peyton took off at lightning speed towards Connie. Connie picked the little girl up holding her close to her.

Julie walked up to them as Peyton talked excitedly. They made their way to the baggage claim. Connie looked over at Julie giving her a concerned once over.

"You didn't bring his stroller?"

"It's in the bag." Julie said adjusting the bulky bag on her shoulder.

"You mean you're carrying him and that? Get it out of the bag and put him in it dummy."

Julie sighed as she handed him to Connie and shrugged the bag off of her shoulder. Their bags came down the conveyer belt and Julie pointed them out as she got the stroller set up. Connie watched in wonder as she got Nate adjusted.

"That big thing fits in that bag?"

"I have to fight with it, but yes."

"Unbelievable. I'm never having kids. I couldn't possibly create any as cute as these two."

Peyton scrunched up her nose as she looked up at Connie. Connie mimicked her expression as Julie watched the two of them interact.

They were outside hailing a cab a few minutes later. Julie didn't see how Connie could want to live here. Her family and most of her friends were almost a thousand miles away even if she did most of her work here, she could still work out of Minneapolis.

The cab slowly moved toward Mid-Town. People rushed down the street in their own worlds. Julie wished she had that option sometimes. She looked down at the little boy in her lap and the little girl on the other side of Connie and she was glad that she wasn't like the people outside.

They stopped outside Connie's building a few minutes later. Connie paid the cabbie as Julie got the bags from the trunk. Connie led them up the stairs as Julie carried most of the bags.

"I told you I could carry more." Connie said once they were in the loft.

"Yes you did. But what you didn't tell me was that you live five floors up or that the elevator was broken." Julie said through clenched teeth.

"Oh please, you're not mad at me. You love me." Connie said batting her eyelashes.

Julie shook her head with a smile as she took the bags into the spare bedroom.

"You have a crib in one of those bags?" Connie asked watching from the door.

"No. He's gonna sleep in the bed with me and Peyton."

Connie left her to finish unpacking. Peyton was playing quietly on the living room floor with Nate as she sat down on the couch. Nate was starting to try to crawl but all he would do was bounce up and down in the same place.

"Come Nathan, you can do it. Crawl to Sissy." Peyton said encouraging him.

He continued bouncing not listening to his sister.

"He'll do it eventually." Connie said once Peyton gave up.

She flopped down on the couch with a sigh which made Connie think of Adam. Julie walked into the room picking up Nate before sitting down with the girls.

He lifted his head to look at Connie then Peyton before laying his head on Julie's shoulder. She kissed his cheek as she ran a hand through what little hair he had.

"Peyton why don't you head back to my room? I'll put a movie on for you." Connie said breaking the silence.

Peyton nodded as Connie walked her out of the room. Julie took the baby back to their room and tried to get him to lay down for a nap. They had been going since seven that morning and she knew he would fall asleep soon.

Julie came out of the room a few minutes later and found Connie in her office. Connie didn't even look up from her drawing as Julie started to look around. Something in the corner caught her attention making her walk over to it. It's a backless emerald green dress. It's hemline was slanted so the left side stopped just below the manaquin's thigh and the right fell past her knee. It's sequins glinted in the sun filtering into the room.

"I can't imagine wearing something this nice."

"I made that with you in mind. Do you still have those silver hoop earings your dad got you while we were in school?"

"Yeah. I don't wear them that often though."

"You're going home with that dress. I would be offended if you didn't."

"Well, I guess I can't say no then. Can I?"

"No." Connie said shaking her head.

"You don't mind if I hang in here while you work?"

"Uh uh, I can always use constructive feedback."

Connie handed her a sketch pad and Julie started going through it making notes in the corners. They spent the afternoon talking and laughing. They talked like they did when they were in school. They acted like teenagers, it was what Julie needed.

XXXX

Adam looked around the room one last time before picking up his last box. He didn't like that it had come to this. He hoped that Julie would eventually forgive him. He had left the letter he had written on the island. He'd call before he sent the papers he was having drawn up. He had lied to himself long enough. His problems weren't going to go away on their own. He had a long road ahead of him before he could say that he was finally happy with things.

With all of his things in the car he got behind the wheel. He stared up at the house as he thought of all the things that had happened in the house. They had moved in not long after they had gotten married. He remembered bringing both of their children home for the first time. He wasn't just walking out on Julie, he was walking out on Peyton and Nate as well. Could he really live with that?

He wished his mother had had the nerve to walk out on his dad sooner. His brother and sister were still at home at the end of their marriage. They shouldn't have had to deal with that. He knew he was taking the easy way out. But it was better than putting his kids through the emotional damage he'd had to deal with when he was younger.

With his resolve in place he started the car and pulled out of the driveway. He looked up at the house one last time before pulling away. He would get help as soon as possible and face his demons. He wouldn't come near Peyton or Nate until he had dealt with them.

XXXX

Julie didn't know why she was calling him, she already knew what he would say. But as she waited for him to pick up she just wanted to hear his voice. His opinion mattered, even if he was biased.

"Hello?"

"I'm glad I caught you."

"Hey Jules."

"I need you're advice."

"You seem to be needing that a lot lately."

"Don't make me regret calling you Portman."

"Whatcha need?"

"Things are worse than I thought with Adam."

"What happened?"

"I'm in New York."

"You left him?" He asked sounding shocked.

"No. I needed a break. I couldn't handle being around him, so the kids and I are staying with Connie for a couple weeks."

"What would make you leave?"

"He's changed. He's not the person I married."

"You don't think he's cheating on you do you?"

"No, he wouldn't be able to keep something like that from me. He's got a guilty conscience."

"What do you think it is?"

"I honestly don't know. I talked to Charlie and Guy a little while ago. Guy doesn't know anything. But the way Charlie was acting makes me think he knows something."

"You want me to talk to him?"

"No. He probably thinks it's not his place to tell me. Which means it's serious."

"I don't know what to tell you. But you did the right thing when you left. You'll be level headed when you have to face Adam again. And maybe he'll be ready to tell you what's going on by then."

Julie listened on the other end wishing that things hadn't come to this. Things had always been intense between her and Adam. But they had never fought as much as they had in the past few months. She wished she knew what to do to fix things between them.

**You'll find out where Adam went in the next chapter. I can tell you now, he's not with Charlie. ****That's all I'll tell you.**


	8. Dear Julie

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. Got it? Good. But I do own Sara, Peyton, and Nathan.**

The two weeks that Julie was in New York passed by in a blur. She stepped out of the terminal looking for Sara. She found her standing at the baggage claim waiting for them. It didn't seem like that long ago she had left. She had tried to call Adam while she was gone. He wouldn't answer his phone or the house phone. She had called Charlie and he said that he hadn't heard from him.

Something was off and Julie wanted to figure out what was going on. Sara drove them home in silence. Like Fulton she didn't talk much, they were a good match. As they pulled up to the house Julie saw the mailbox stuffed with mail. Newspapers littered the yard. Had Adam not come home at all while they were gone?

She pulled out her phone and dialed Charlie's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey, you home?"

"Just got here. Have you been able to get in touch with Adam since I talked to you the other day?"

"No. It's weird, it's like he's dissapeared. Why?"

"He hasn't been here either. It doesn't look like anyone's been here since I left."

"Do you want me to come over?"

"No. I'll just try to call him again. Maybe the thousandth time is a charm huh?" She asked with a laugh.

"Maybe. Call me if you hear anything."

"I will."

Julie shut her phone as she started pulling bags from the backseat.

"Do you want me to stay for a while?" Sara asked once everything had been brought in.

"Nah, go ahead and go home. I'm gonna order a pizza and maybe watch a movie with the kids. Go spend time with your husband."

"You don't have to tell me twice. I'll see you later." Sara before hugging her.

Julie watched her leave from the front porch. Peyton came out holding an envelope.

"Momma what does this say?" She asked holding it up.

Julie took it from her not knowing to expect. Her name was written across the front in Adam's hand writing. She opened it as she made her way back into the house. Peyton went into the living room where Nate was sleeping in his play pen. She played quietly as Julie set the envelope down long enough to order dinner. Once she was off the phone she picked up the letter again.

_Dear Julie,_

_There isn't a right way for me to say this so I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you. I've been a terrible husband and father. I don't want you to think that anything that is going on is your fault. Because you are a wonderful person. Anyone would be lucky to have you in their life. _

_I don't deserve you. We both know I have issues that I have to deal with. You shouldn't have to deal with me while I go through it. I want you to know that I don't regret marrying you or having Peyton and Nate. I know that you'll raise them to be kind and wonderful people. _

_I did a lot of thinking the night before you left. I realized I wasn't being fair to you. I've been holding you back for years. I'm so sorry for not believing in you. You deserve better than that. I hope one day that you can forgive me._

_I'm having divorce papers drawn up and you should be getting them in a week or so. I hope when you find love again that the person treats you better than I have. I'll call you when I can. I still want to be in the kids lives. I couldn't bear to think that you would raise them on your own. I'll be staying with Colin and Susan for a while. Call me if you need anything._

_Adam_

Julie closed the letter with tears in her eyes. Peyton came into the room to let her know that the pizza guy was outside. Julie paid him but she didn't remember much after that. She didn't remember putting the kids to bed half an hour later. What she did remember was that she spent all night crying because their wasn't anything she could do to save her marriage.

Adam had walked out on them. How was she going to tell Peyton? She was smart for four. She would know something was going on when Adam didn't come home after a few days. She still had to tell her family and friends. How was she going to do that? Half of her friends were friends with Adam too. She couldn't expect them to pick sides.

She felt like her world was caving in around her. She would cry now and get it out. After tonight, she would pull herself together and make it through this with her head held high. She wouldn't cry again. She couldn't afford to, she had two children to raise. She had to be strong for them.

XXXX

Adam had thought long and hard about who he could ask for a place to stay. His brother was a lot like their dad in some ways. He was a hard ass who had a tendency to push his kids too far. Maybe a little time spent with Colin would set both of them straight. Colin wasn't too old to be lectured by his older brother on his parenting skills. And Adam needed to be knocked down a few notches himself. So they would both get something out of the situation.

He had been staying with them almost three weeks when Charlie showed up. He gave Adam a hard look once he opened the door. Colin and Susan were at work and the kids were still at school so now was a good time for the tongue lashing he knew was coming.

"The kids are fine. Julie's holding it together really well. I can tell she misses you though."

"I miss her too." Adam said as they sat on the couch.

"What made you finally leave?"

"Julie thought what was going on was her fault. I couldn't stand doing that to her."

"How are you?"

"I feel like scum. I couldn't even make my marriage work."

"In your defense your parents didn't set the best example."

"My mom tried. I swear I still hear my dad's voice in my head. He sounds just like he did when we were in PeeWee's."

"That can't be healthy."

"You had a bad childhood too. How did you not turn out like I did?"

"My mom wouldn't let me. I also had the Ducks."

"So did I."

"We were the only stable thing you had. When we weren't together you were so withdrawn. I remember Julie calling me while you two were in college because she was worried about you. I had to reassure her that it wasn't her. It was just that you weren't used to being on your own."

Adam nodded wondering why Julie had put up with him for so long. She must have really loved him. At the time he had loved her too. He'd had eight years of something wonderful. Which was more than some people could say.


	9. Picking Up the Pieces

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it? You guys already know.**

Julie sat in the waiting area nervously tapping her foot against the leg of the chair. She was lucky that she had been able to get out of the house without having Peyton attached to her leg. She had been so clingy lately, she had slept with Julie every night this week. She was okay with Adam not being there; but she wanted to have Julie within her eyesight constantly.

Julie was thankful that Nate was young enough that he wouldn't understand what was happening until he got older. Peyton wouldn't remember much either other than that Julie held it together for her and Nate.

"Mrs. Banks? Mr. Portman will see you now."

Julie made her way into his office smiling appreciatively at his secretary as she passed. She closed the door behind her watching Dean at his desk. He was going over some paper work but once the door clicked shut he looked up.

"Have a seat." He said warmly.

Julie was glad that he hadn't passed judgement on her when she called him to set up an appointment. She knew he wasn't a divorce lawyer, but she knew he would help her find one. Even though she could have gotten a recommendation over the phone she felt better talking to him in person.

He had a book open in front of him and a few names and numbers were hilighted.

"How are you?"

"Other than the fact that I'm newly single mother? I'm fine."

"It'll get better." He said giving her a reassuring smile.

"Why are you being so nice? You don't even like Adam."

"I never said I didn't like him. He wasn't that bad when we were younger. Now I hold it in because you're my friend."

Julie gave him a thankful smile before they started going over the list of lawyers he had for her. It felt good to be honest with someone for a change. It had been almost two weeks since Julie had come home to find Adam gone. She was in the process of moving on. She didn't know how long it would take but she hoped it wouldn't last long.

XXXX

Connie sat at her desk staring at the invitation in front of her. She had to get it out today or it wouldn't get to Minniapolis in time. All she had to do was check the box with the one or two. How hard could it be? If she checked one that meant that she was a loser who couldn't find a date. If she checked two she'd have to call Guy and beg him to be her date. It wasn't as easy as it had once been. He mentioned that often when it came to her. What if he already had a date? She could always go with Julie or Charlie.

She shook her head and marked the first box and put the card in it's envelope. She'd send it out when she went to the warehouse. With that behind her she went back to going over her drawings. She only had three weeks until fashion week. Which meant that her seamtress didn't have long to work on them. It was a good thing Connie would only be gone for the weekend. She'd deal with whatever happened on Monday.

XXXX

Julie hung up the phone with a groan. She had been calling different people she had gone to college with hoping that they would be able to tell her if any ad agency's were hiring. She had a few leads, but all but one had turned out to be dead ends. She still couldn't get in touch with the CEO for the firm in Dallas. She didn't like the idea of moving the kids away from everything they were comfortable with. But if Dallas was the only place that had an opening then she wouldn't have a choice.

She wished that she hadn't given in when Adam had told her he didn't want her working after they got married. She had always said that she would never do something like that. Then she had fallen in love and everything had changed. Now that her marriage was over she felt like she was relearning everything again. Connie was right, she had changed.

XXXX

Portman cradled the phone on one shoulder as he looked through a file. He was about to hang up when he heard the other extension pick up.

"Hello?" A little girl said.

"Is Julie there?"

"Who's this?"

"Dean Portman. I'm a friend of hers."

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey. Sorry, she's not supposed to answer the phone."

"It's okay. I was wondering if you had plans tomorrow night."

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"I found you a lawyer."

"You did? Portman you're the best!" She said with a nervous laugh.

"She wants to meet you for a business dinner tomorrow night."

"I'll have to find a baby-sitter. But I'll be there."

"She doesn't normally take clients without talking to them first. But she's a friend of mine."

"I really do appreciate it."

"I know you do. Do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Call me and let me know how it goes."

"I can do that."

"All right then."

He gave her the information she needed and soon she was off the phone. She hadn't expected him to be able to help her. She had planned to start looking for a lawyer with in the next few days. She was glad that she had gone to see him. Even if it was just to get his opinion.


	10. A Voice of Reason

**Disclaimer: No I do not own the Mighty Ducks. Disney does.**

Julie stood in front of her mirror trying to decide if she was ready to do what she was about to do. It had been less than three days since she had dinner with her lawyer. Which had been a numbing experience. Now she had to face all of her friends and try to act like nothing had changed.

The phone rang making her jump. She ran a hand through her hair to calm her nerves before picking up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey Connie."

"I was just calling to let you know that I'm on my way."

"Now? You're not supposed to be here for another two hours. I haven't even started getting ready yet."

"I figured you wouldn't be. So that's why I'm coming over early. You need someone to kick your ass into gear."

"You know I love you right?" Julie asked with a laugh.

"I know, I love you too."

"I'll see you soon."

Julie hung up the phone with a sigh. She didn't even want to go to the reunion. But Connie had made her realize that if she didn't go that it would look like she was hiding something. She would just have to deal with everyone feeling sorry for her. She needed to see her friends again. She knew they wouldn't treat her any differently. And if anyone gave her a hard time she could count on them to back her up.

XXXX

Julie sat in the corner listening to everyone talk and laugh. Connie was right, this was what she needed. It hadn't taken her long to loosen up. Russ had her laughing and tossing insults at him after ten minutes.

She looked out across the room wondering where Adam was. It wasn't like him to miss something like this. They hadn't talked in a few days, and he hadn't mentioned that he wasn't coming. She was just glad that he felt comfortable calling her. Granted she did most of the talking or he talked to the kids, but it was a step in the right direction.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Sara asked breaking her from her thoughts.

"Adam. I was just wondering why he would miss this."

"He probably had to work."

Julie nodded before seeing Connie out of the corner of her eye. She was walking out the front door with Charlie not far behind her. Portman sat next to Julie making her look over at him with a smile.

"You okay?"

"I'm good. I'm glad I came tonight."

"Me too. You were starting to turn into an old maid." He said giving her a teasing smile.

"Ha, ha." She said rolling her eyes.

"I've been thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"Ah ha! Anyway, you should probably think about not taking that job in Dallas."

"Why?"

"Do you really want to take your kids away from their family? And Peyton will be starting school soon right?"

"She starts in a month." Julie said with a nod.

"Speaking as someone who's been through that I can tell you it won't solve anything. My mom and I moved three times in the first year after my parents got divorced. It wasn't until I joined the Ducks that I got my act together."

"I don't want to move if I don't have to. But it's the only job offer I've gotten." Julie said with a sigh.

"Just think about it alright?"

Julie nodded giving him a small smile. He was right. She shouldn't be moving the kids away from Adam. It wouldn't be fair to him or his family. His mom and sister had been really wonderful since Adam left. His sister had offered to let Peyton and Nate stay with her for the weekend so that she could see everyone. She would try again on Monday, and she would keep trying until she found a job closer to home.

XXXX

Charlie listened intently while Connie talked. He still didn't understand why Connie had pulled him outside half an hour before. Even Guy had given him a curious look just before he walked out the door.

"I know what you're thinking." She said realizing that he wasn't listening.

"What am I thinking?"

"Why I'm not talking to Guy about this."

"Actually that is what I'm thinking."

"He'd freak if he found out that I thought I might be pregnant. Especially since he doesn't know the guy."

"Now I get it. I thought it was because you liked to weird me out."

"I do like doing that. It's so easy." She said nudging him playfully.

"So what are you going to do if you are pregnant?"

"I don't know. It's scary to think about. I hardly know the guy."

"And yet you slept with him?"

"Not all of us have been lucky enough to find that one person yet." She said sadly.

"Yeah, well maybe the second one will work out better for me." He said taking a pull from his beer.

"I'm sorry Charlie, I didn't mean it like that." She said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you didn't. I'm still bitter."

"I've had issues letting people in the last few years. I can count the amount of friends I have in New York on one hand."

"That's pretty sad. Why do you think you can't let anyone in?"

"I've got a case of Duck syndrome. Nobody there adds up to you guys."

"Tell you what. Next time you get to missing us too much drop whatever you're doing and call one of us. And if that doesn't work than come and see us."

"You've been talking to Jules."

"She's a smart woman."

"I know."

"So are you." He said draping an arm over her shoulder.

"Thanks Spazway."

"Anytime." He said leading her back inside.

Once inside Connie found Julie. She was dancing with Luis when Connie walked up to her. She tapped Julie on the shoulder making her turn to look at her.

"You wanna cut in?"

"Actually I'm ready to go if you are."

"Sure." Julie said with a nod.

The two of them said goodbye to everyone before going out to the car. Julie waited until they were at her house before asking Connie what was wrong.

"What did you and Charlie talk about earlier?"

"I needed his advice about something. The advice he gave me is something that you would have said. He's grown up a lot since high school."

"Well I could have told you that. So is everything okay now?"

"I don't know yet."

"What do you mean you don't know yet?"

"I think I might be pregnant."

"How late are you?"

"A week, but it could be stress too."

"When were you planning on finding out?" Julie asked with a laugh.

"I have a paper bag full of pregnancy tests in one of my suitcases. I just can't make myself take them."

"Go and get them. You're going to take them now."

Connie was back downstairs less then a minute later. She downed three bottled waters in fifteen minutes before taking the tests. There were six in all.

"You really wanted to be sure didn't you?"

"I don't play around when it comes to this kind of thing."

"Has this happened before?"

"Once, while I was still with Guy. It happened right after high school. It turned out to be a false alarm."

They were silent while they waited out the last three minutes. The digital timer went off making Connie jump. Julie put a hand on her back to let her know that she wasn't going through it alone. They made their way down the hall to the bathroom wondering what the tests would say.

Connie stood at the door while Julie picked up the three closest to her and took a deep breath before looking down.

"These three say you're not." She said looking over her shoulder.

Connie let out a sigh before running a hand through her hair. Julie put them down before looking at the other three.

"You're not pregnant."

"Oh thank God. I'm not having sex again until I know that I have feelings for the guy."

"That would be a good idea." Julie said giving her a small smile.

"Thank you, for everything."

"Don't you think you should call Charlie? He's probably worried sick."

"I'll text him, I'm too tired to explain everything to him now."

"You can crash here if you want."

"I think I might." Connie said with a laugh.

Julie pulled Connie in for a hug letting her friend fall into her. Julie would never understand why Connie thought she had to be strong all the time. It was comforting that she was finally letting someone help her.

Julie didn't know if she would ever be as strong as Connie, and that was okay with her. There would never be anyone in her life like Connie. They were complete opposites and they were best friends. They made each other laugh, and they had their arguments. But when it came down to it Julie couldn't have asked for a better best friend.


	11. A New Start

**Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Them. **

**This chapter takes place a month after the last one. Just thought I'd throw that in so no one would get confused.**

It had taken a while to get used to Adam not being there. Peyton was taking it harder than Julie had expected. Adam called to talk to her every weekend.

Julie would be starting her new job a few days after Peyton started Kindergarten. She was surprised that she had been able to find a job close to home. She had gone in a few days ago to meet everyone and to sign paperwork and she got the feeling that she was going to love it there.

Julie couldn't handle another night of Peyton coming in her room and keeping her up all night because she wanted to talk. She was contemplating sending her to a child psychiatrist. She would have to talk to Sara about it.

"Mom?" Peyton said opening Julie's door.

"Hey sweetie. You can't sleep again?" She asked in a tired voice.

"No." Peyton said as she stood in front of Julie.

"Come on up. I'm going to heat up some milk for you. Maybe that'll help."

"Okay." Peyton answered getting situated in the middle of the bed.

That was something else. She never slept on Adam's side. Julie had asked her about it. Peyton had shrugged her shoulders in response. Her little girl was hiding something from her; and that wasn't normal.

XXXX

"Mommy I want this kind of glue." Peyton said holding up a package of glue sticks.

"Put them in the cart." Julie said checking glue of the list.

They had been shopping since early that morning. Luckily she hadn't brought Nate with them. He'd would have been tired, cranky and hungry by now. Peyton had dragged Julie to every kids clothing store in the mall. That had taken three hours. Two hours later they were almost done with her school supply list.

Her cell phone rang as Peyton put a Camp Rock folder into the cart.

"You need three hon." Julie said before pulling her phone out of her purse.

She heard Nate laughing in the back ground so she knew it was either Fulton or Sara.

"Hello?'

"Hey."

"We're almost done. I should be there in half an hour. I promise."

"Well good, because he's only got one diaper left. All of his bibs are dirty and I've had to change his outfit twice."

"Why?"

"Fulton wanted to feed him. More got on him and Fulton than in his mouth."

"Man, I wish I had been there to see that." Julie said laughing.

"I took pictures, don't worry."

Nate let out an excited squeal and laughter could be heard in the background.

"What is Fulton doing to him?"

"It's more Portman than Fulton."

"Okay, than what is Portman doing?"

"He's rolling around on the floor with him. Then Fulton will hold one of his toys in the air until Nate crawls to him. He's loving every minute of it." Sara said with a laugh.

Julie smiled as she pushed the cart to the checkout. She hoped it didn't take Sara as long as it had taken her to get pregnant. Sara was going to make a great mom. Fulton had calmed down a lot since he had met Sara five years ago. He'd be a tough dad, but he'd show his kids all the love they deserved.

XXXX

Julie watched from the sidewalk as Peyton's bus pulled away. Peyton waved as the bus turned the corner. Julie waved back before turning Nate's stroller around to head up the driveway.

"Okay, it's just you and me buddy. I need to get dressed. So you are going to play on Momma's bed." She said walking up the stairs with Nate on her hip.

"Momma." Nate said before laying his head on her shoulder.

Julie stopped in the hall and stared at her eight month old son. She let out a breathless laugh before kissing his forehead.

"That's good baby. You said Momma."

"Momma." Nate said again as he lifted his head to look at her.

Julie felt her heart swell with pride as she continued towards her room. She set Nate down in between the pillows to keep him from rolling off the bed. She was contemplating calling Adam. He needed to know that it had happened. Even they couldn't share it together he should be included.

Julie dialed his cell number while she straightened her skirt.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey Jules."

"You're not working are you?"

"I'm at my desk right now, but no I'm not. Why?"

"The baby said his first word."

"He did? That's amazing!" Adam said with a laugh.

"I know." Julie said laughing.

"What was it?"

"'Momma'. I had just gotten Peyton off to school and I said it, and he said it back to me. Not once, but twice."

"That's great." He said sounding like he honestly meant it.

There hadn't been a week that had gone by that he hadn't called to talk to Peyton. So other than telling him about Nate Julie didn't know what to say.

"Is it okay that I don't know what to say?" He asked breaking the silence.

"It is, because I don't know what to say either."

"We'll work on that, but right now I'm going to have to let you go. The Chief just tossed a folder six inches thick on my desk."

"Okay. Don't work too hard."

"I'll try not to." He said with a laugh.

They talked for a few more seconds before Julie hung up the phone. She turned to Nate and picked him up.

"Your daddy is so proud of you. Do you know that?"

Nathan answered by garbling then took hold of her necklace.

"No baby." She said pulling his hand away from her necklace.

She walked down the stairs then turned around in the foyer. The house was too big for the three of them. It held so many wonderful memories, but Julie knew it would get harder to live there since Adam wasn't coming home.

She pulled her jacket on then straightened Nate's shirt before opening the door. Today was the start of the rest of her life.


	12. Reaching Out Across the Telephone Line

**Disclaimer: I don't own them.**

Adam skated across the ice watching Charlie and the kids go through drills. Coaching had always made him happy; until recently. He didn't know when things had changed. He felt like he was going through the motions.

Charlie blew his whistle and the kids took off towards the locker room. he skated over to Adam wonder what was wrong with him.

"You okay?" he asked, skidding to a stop in front of his friend.

Adam laughed as he brushed ice from his face and hair. Charlie had been doing that since they were kids. It never got old with him.

"I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"I need to quit coaching. I'll come back but I need to get myself together."

"You're leaving me to coach them on my own?" Charlie asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"I have faith in you. And so do they." Adam said as the kids slowly filled out of the locker room.

The parents came in as Adam skated towards them. The kids crowded around him as he broke the news. Charlie watched from the ice as the boys hung their heads and the parents put a comforting hand on their shoulders to lead them outside.

Adam's eyes met Charlie's as he took off his skates. He gave him a reassuring smile as he hoisted his bog on his shoulder. Charlie waved just before Adam turned to walk away.

XXXX

Connie had fabric swatches spread across the bed in her hotel room. She prided herself for always being ahead of things. Her fall line was really coming along. She had been surprised when the editor or Elle magazine wanted her to send some samples of her work to them. She was going to do more than that just send samples. A scarf and wool hate that she had been working on would work. She just hoped that they liked them. Maybe she should send a shirt and skirt with them; but that would be overdoing it. The scarf, the hat and the matching gloves would do.

Her phone rang from somewhere on the bed. She groaned as she started digging through the mess on the bed. Her fingers curled around something that felt like her phone. She let out a sigh as she pushed the on button.

"Hello?" she asked breathlessly.

"Hey."

"Hey Charlie." she said with a thankful sigh.

"You're not busy are you?"

"No. I'm just finishing up something." she reassured him.

"How have you been?"

"Good, really good; no more pregnancy scares."

"Good to know. Charlie said chuckling.

"How have you been?"

"You mean other than Adam bailing out on our pee wee team, or the fact that my divorce is finalized as of today? I'm doing okay." he said nonchalantly.

"I'm sorry." Connie said sympathetically.

Charlie wasn't the type to open when something was bothering him. Connie honestly didn't know what to say.

"I think I scared Guy earlier." Charlie said to get her attention after a few seconds of silence.

"How?" she enquired.

"He came in while I was reading through my divorce papers. All he said was hi and I snapped at him." he explained.

"He'll get over it. He knows that you didn't mean it."

"I hope so." Charlie said unsurely.

"Knowing him he's probably forgotten about it by now."

"Do you have any shows coming up?"

"I have one for Neiman Marcus this weekend. So I'm in California getting ready for it."

"Well, good luck."

"Thanks Charlie. Why did Adam quit coaching?"

"He's going through a lot of changes right now. I think being around the kids was too much for him to handle."

"I hope he's getting help." Connie said in concern.

"He says he is."

They talked for another few minutes. Connie hung up the phone glad that she'd had the chance to talk to Charlie. They hadn't kept in touch since she had moved to New York four years ago. She needed to call him more often. He needed her just as much as Julie did.

**AN: I am sorry that this is so short. I hope that you guys are still reading this.**


	13. Being Honest For a Change

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks. But it would awesome if I did.**

**AN: I can't believe that it has been almost three years since I updated this. I can be such a ****procrastinator sometimes and there is no reason that you guys should suffer because of it. A thousand apologies you guys.**

He stood at her front door hoping that she wouldn't push him away. He shook the thought from his head. She had never done that and hopefully she never would. He raised a hand to knock as the door opened. She smiled before letting him in.

"How long have you been standing out there?"

"Not long. How did you know that I was out there?"

"Peyton saw you pull up. So she came to get me."

"Momma!" Nate called from the kitchen.

"He can talk now?" Portman asked in astonishment.

"Just momma for now, he started Friday and hasn't stopped since." Julie answered in wonder with a shake of her head.

They walked into the kitchen and saw that Nate was still in his chair. Peyton was at the island making goofy faces at him. He clapped his hands sending bits of cookie flying.

"I should clean his chair." Julie said pulling Nate from the mess.

"I can hold him while you do it." Portman offered.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

Julie moved to stand in front of him. Nate reached for him while a gummy smile.

"Peyton why you don't you go get some toys for Nate to play with?" Julie asked while wetting a paper towel.

"Yes ma'am."

Julie finished as Peyton came back in with Nate's favorite ball and blanket.

"A blanket?" Portman asked skeptically, quirking an eyebrow.

"Go ahead and show him Peyt." Julie encouraged her.

Portman set Nate on the floor as Peyton put the blanket over Nat's head. His squeals of laughter were muffled as Julie sat at the table.

"Where's Nathan?" Peyton asked, tugging at the corner of the blanket.

"Is that safe?" Portman asked sitting next to Julie.

"Just wait." she said with a coy smile.

Nate pulled a corner of the blanket away from his face giving Peyton a grin.

"There he is!" Peyton said clapping her hands.

Nate clapped his mimicking her.

"It doesn't take much to keep him happy. He's a happy go lucky baby." Julie explained as Peyton put the blanket back over Nate's head.

Peyton pulled the blanket away from him making him laugh all over again.

"Why don't we go in the living room?" Julie asked, rising from the table.

Peyton picked Nate up, still clutching the blanket. Julie waited for Portman.

"I'm glad you came over." she said with a smile.

"I am too." he agreed, returning the smile.

"We should do this more often. We don't hang out the way we used to." she mused.

"You're right, we should." he agreed again.

They sat on the couch while the kids played on the floor. One thing led to another before Portman invited them to dinner.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." he said quickly when she didn't answer right away.

"No. I was planning on taking to the kids to Guy's. I was about to ask if you wanted to go."

"That sounds like a plan." Portman agreed with a nod.

"We're going to Guy's?" Peyton asked.

"We're going to Antebellum." Julie corrected.

"Where did he come up with that name? It's weird."

"I don't know. He can pretty eccentric when he wants to be." Julie said, shaking her head.

"You probably need to get them ready."

"You would be right." she teased.

"Tell you what, I'll call and make the reservation while you get them ready."

"I can have them ready in ten minutes."

Portman pulled his phone out of his pocket as Julie carried Nate out of the room. He felt like he was getting to know her all over again. He had spent more time with her in the past two months than he had in the past ten years.

She'd had her own life that he hadn't been a part of. Julie as a mom surprised him every time he saw Nate. This was the first time he had seen Peyton since Fulton's wedding. The little girl was still a little apprehensive about him.

He could understand that. He had given every guy his mom had brought home a hard time. He and his step dad butted head every time he came home. He would have to give Peyton her space and let her see he wasn't a bad guy. Hopefully it wouldn't take that long.

XXXX

Charlie bolted upright in bed. He rubbed sleep from his eyes as someone rang the doorbell. He looked at the clock as he flung his legs over the side of the bed.

It was almost five. He had slept for five hours. He hadn't meant to sleep that long. He made his way down the hall hearing Guy at the door.

"Sorry." Charlie said helping Guy with the bags on the porch.

"Don't worry about it."

"I can't believe I slept that long."

"I ran into Adam a little while ago. He said he wanted you to call him."

"I'll go and see him later. Right now I'm starving." Charlie said pulling things out of the bags.

"I can't make you anything. I'm running late. I've got to be at the restaurant in ten minutes."

"I'll take care of this. Go ahead and go." Charlie reassured him.

Charlie had everything put away and had finished a bowl of cereal twenty minutes later. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he had started putting the food away. He was so hungry that he didn't have the patience to cook anything he just wanted his stomach to stop rumbling.

He sat at the island with his phone beside him reading the paper once he had rinsed his bowl out and put it in the dishwasher. It was Adam. They hadn't talked since Adam had told him that he was quitting coaching two weeks before. Once the shock of what had happened set in Charlie was livid that Adam could brush the kids off the way that he had. He knew that Adam had his reasons, but he wasn't talking to anyone.

"Hello?" he said with a sigh.

"Hey." Adam said cautiously.

"Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to talk to my best friend. I haven't talked to you in a while, I wanted to see what was up."

"What's up? Not a lot. I'm swamped at work because the first month or so of school is always crazy. The kids are still adjusting and so am I. My divorce is final, so that's something that you didn't know. Our team has been blaming themselves for you leaving. A couple of the parents pulled their kids from the team because of it. So I have to work with nine players instead of eleven. Not that it's your problem anymore." Charlie said harshly.

"Don't lay a guilt trip on me Conway. I have my own problems to deal with."

"Don't hand me that. You and I both know that Julie was willing to help you with whatever it is your going through."

"I don't love her anymore, okay?" Adam blurted out.

"What?" Charlie spat skeptically.

"I realized that I didn't love her anymore while she was pregnant with Nathan."

"What kind of person falls out of love with their wife while she is pregnant? Don't you have any respect for her at all? What the hell is the matter with you?" Charlie demanded.

"I don't know okay? My mom wants me to see a therapist. She says that it's the only way that I can live with her." Adam defended himself before sighing.

"I thought that you were living with your brother." Charlie asked skeptically.

"I realized that it would be better if I lived with my mom. She needs someone there with her. I hired a nurse to be there when I can't be."

"I didn't realize that she was that bad." Charlie said sadly.

"She has Alzheimer's. It's getting worse."

"I guess you do have your own problems to worry about." Charlie rationalized.

"I can't explain what happened with Jules. One day I loved her and then the next I saw her differently. I love the kids, I always will. And I do blame myself for what happened, thanks for making me feel worse Dude." Adam said with a sigh.

"Sorry." Charlie said sympathetically.

They talked for another twenty minutes before Charlie said that he had to go. He wasn't angry at Adam anymore, but he didn't have the answers to any of the questions that he had asked Adam. He guessed he never would.

XXXX

Portman sat across from Julie with the kids in between them. Nate drank his bottle quietly while Peyton colored. Guy was known for doting on the little girl and Portman could see that Peyton thought the world of Guy. Julie stared at him, wondering why he had suddenly decided to start talking to her again. She had her suspicions that it was because Adam was out of the picture.

Portman had bowed out gracefully after high school when he realized that they were serious about each other. Julie had missed talking to her best friend but she knew that he had never gotten along with Adam. So she had come to look forward to the once a month calls from Portman over the last ten years.

They had both changed so much since high school. She had never thought that he would become a lawyer. The Portman that she had known as a teenager didn't seem like the type of person who would be on the laws side of things. Then again, he had always been able to fool everyone else, so it wasn't that big of a surprise that he did something so unexpected.

"What made you want to become a lawyer?" she asked out of the blue.

Portman's eyes rose to meet hers to see her searching his eyes.

"My mom fought with my dad's family a lot when I was really young. They didn't think that a single woman who had no family could raise a child on her own."

"They took her to court for custody of you?" she asked worriedly.

"Three times before I was ten." he confirmed with a slow nod.

"That's why you practice juvenile law?"

"Mm hmm."

"How come you've never told me that before?"

"I don't like talking about it." he said with a shrug.

"I'm sorry, I'll let it go." she said apologetically.

"No. We've known each other for fifteen years. It's time that you knew."

"Are you sure?" she asked cautiously.

"Not now. Could I come back to your house for a while?"

"Sure."

He took care of the check while she took Nate and Peyton to the bathroom to clean them up and go to the bathroom. They were back at her house half an hour later and he waited in the living room while she put the kids to bed. She came into the living room with a cup of coffee for each of them. He took both cups so that she could sit down next to him.

"My dad took off before I was two. I don't know much about him other than what his family told me. He was on the run from the law so no one knew how to get in touch with him." he explained.

"But his family was a part of your life?" she questioned.

"Yeah. They came from money and they weren't afraid of throwing it around. My mom and I made it clear that we didn't want their pity or their money so they stopped coming around by the time I was thirteen." he said with a scowl.

"What did your dad do?"

"He was wanted for tax evasion. I think my mom said he owed close to ten million in back taxes when he left."

"That's a lot." she said under her breath.

"My mom and I were scared that his family would come back into the picture once I turned eighteen. I was ready to fight them; she didn't want anything to do with them." he said as his lips formed a hard line.

"So it was just you and your mom?"

"Until I was fifteen, she got remarried the winter after we won the Junior Olympics."

"That's why you didn't start Eden Hall with the rest of us?" she reasoned.

"My step dad and I have never gotten along. Things were pretty bad after they first got married."

"Have you told Fulton any of this?"

"When we first met." he confirmed.

"You could have told me. I wouldn't have passed judgment on you." she said as the news sank in.

"I didn't want your pity. Back then you were a completely different person. You wanted to be the mother hen of the team and I didn't want that." he said shaking his head in disagreement.

"And now?"

"You're stronger than you used to be. You're more jaded now."

"Becoming a single parent would do that to anyone." she pointed out.

"Maybe so." he agreed quietly.

"Whatever the reason, I'm glad that we're friends again."

"Me too." he agreed again with a nod.

Silence fell between them as she took in everything that he had told her. She understood him better now than she had as a teenager. She was glad that he had finally felt comfortable enough to tell her the truth. She had met his mother at graduation and had talked to her at Fulton's wedding along with Portman's stepdad Robert. They had seemed like a normal family.

"I should probably go. I have to be in court by nine." Portman said, setting his cup on the coffee table.

Julie looked down at her watch once she had set her cup beside his. It was almost ten. Forty five minutes had passed since they had sat down. She stood with his help then followed him to the front door. He opened the door then paused to turn towards her. He pulled her to him, engulfing her in a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing in his scent. They hadn't hugged like this in so long. She hadn't realized how much she had missed it until now. He pulled away just enough to look down at her. She looked up to see him watching her with weary eyes. He was asking her silently not to pity him. She smiled reassuringly before rubbing his back for emphasis.

He pulled away completely before walking backwards onto the porch. She watched him until he got into his car. She shut the door as he pulled out of the driveway. She went through the house turning out the lights before heading up to her room. She changed in the dark, saying a silent prayer to Peyton would sleep in her own bed tonight. She had been in bed less than ten minutes when Nate started to cry.

She made her way across the hall silently to check on him. He needed a diaper change and his bottle was empty. She picked him up then turned on the lamp by his changing table. She changed his diaper then carried him downstairs to make him a bottle of warm milk. He was half asleep before she made it back up to his room. She was back in bed less than five minutes after she had gotten up. She drifted off to sleep to the sound of the tree outside her window tapping against the side of the house.


	14. Seeing Things From a Different Angle

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mighty Ducks. I am just a writer who is doing what they love, for free.**

Connie didn't know what had possessed her to come to Minnesota. She only came back for special occasion. Even then she normally stayed with her parents. What in God's name had come over when she thought that she should stay with Guy without calling him first? His car wasn't in the driveway, but Charlie's was. She had been talking to Charlie more and more since the reunion. She could honestly say that she was almost as close with him as she was to Guy.

She turned off the car seeing Charlie walking around in the front room. By the time she had gotten her things out of the back of the car Charlie had opened the front door and was leaning against the porch post watching her. She gave him a helpless look as he watched her amusingly.

If it had been Guy he would have been at the car before she could get out of it and already have her bags in his hands. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate it, but she had become so used to doing things for herself that whenever someone helped her she got flustered.

"I don't know if I should trust you, you're carrying luggage," Charlie teased.

"I had the sudden urge to come down. I should have called first," she apologized.

"Come on in," he said walking into the house.

She put her things in the living room then Charlie picked them up and carried them into his room.

"Why did you do that?" she asked in confusion.

"You're a guest. You should have the bed room," he explained.

"Technically you're a guest here too," she reminded him.

"Would you rather share the room?"

"There is a couch in there," she reasoned.

"As you wish," he said, bowing regally.

"You have gotten more warped with age," she said with a laugh.

"I'm not warped, I'm eccentric," he corrected her in an even tone.

She laughed as she shook her head. She took off her shoes, glad to finally have them off after driving for seven hours.

"Where's Geiger?" she asked when Charlie came back into the living room.

"He's a business conference in St. Paul this weekend. Do your parent's know you're in town?"

"No. Like I explained when I came in, it was a spur of the moment decision."

"So, what's going on in the world of high end fashion?"

"My line got picked up Neiman Marcus and I am in the process of searching for a couple of spokes models for the line."

"How is that going?"

"Not so well, no big names will support someone that is unknown unless they are friends with them. Why didn't I make nice with Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton when I had the chance?" she asked in anguish.

"Well think of it as a chance to discover a couple of unknowns like you," he offered.

"I never thought of it that way. Thanks Charlie," she said, giving him a pleased smile.

He scooted closer to her before draping an arm over her shoulders. She rested her head on his shoulders with a content sigh. She wasn't used to letting her guard down for anyone other than Guy. When had things changed? Probably at the reunion when she had poured her heart out to him. She didn't know why she had done it, but she was glad that she had. It was nice to see Charlie as someone other than the klutzy hothead that she had known growing up.

XXXX

Julie was putting Nathan to bed when the phone rang. Peyton could be heard running through the house downstairs to answer it as Julie made her way down the hall. She heard Peyton talking excitedly as she reached the bottom of the stairs. It must have been Adam; he was the only person who could make Peyton so excited except for her.

She leaned against the kitchen door listening to Peyton's end of the conversation.

"When can I see you?" Peyton asked in a way that only a four year old can.

Julie's heart broke with the realization that keeping the kids away from Adam so much was hurting them. They saw him every other weekend and most of the time he would get called in to work so his mom would end up watching them.

"Here she is," Peyton said before holding out the phone to Julie.

"Go brush your teeth. It's almost bedtime."

"Yes ma'am," she said before walking out the room.

Julie put the phone to her ear, wishing that things could be easier for them.

"Hey," she said after a few seconds of silence.

"She has a lot going on," Adam said with a laugh.

"She's made some friends since starting school. She's becoming more independent too," she said endearingly.

"And she's only in pre-school," he reasoned.

"I'm glad that you called. I wanted to talk about their visitation schedule."

"You're cutting back on my time with them?" he asked hurt.

"No, I would never do that. I was thinking that if you wanted you could take them on weeknights. Don't you still have Monday's and Wednesday's off?"

"Yeah," he agreed.

"I was thinking that you could have them Monday through Thursday of every other week,"

"You would trust me to get Peyton off to school?"

"Of course I trust you," she answered.

"What time does she have to be there?"

"School starts at nine and she needs to be picked up by one."

"I really appreciate you doing this," he said thankfully.

"It's not a problem Adam. I would never keep the kids from you, you're their Dad," she reasoned.

"I wish that I could have made things work with us. I really am sorry for treating you the way I did," he apologized.

"I was angry at you when you left, but I'm learning to do deal with it."

"Don't think for a second that what happened was your fault. All of the blame falls on me."

"Are you doing okay?"

"Not really, I miss the three of you so much that it hurts but I need to work through my issues."

"What happens after you've done that?" she questioned.

"I'm hoping that you can learn to forgive me," he answered honestly.

"I'll work on it," she said with a laugh.

"You're an amazing woman Jules, any guy would be lucky to have you. Just not me," he said with a sigh.

"I know," she said quietly.

They talked for a few more minutes before Peyton came back downstairs in her pajamas to let Julie know that she was ready for bed. Julie followed her up the stairs thinking about what Adam had told her. Sometimes she wondered if she would ever be able to trust someone enough to love them again. Adam had done so much damage that she was scared of taking the risk of letting herself be vulnerable again.

Julie read the story of Goldilocks and the three bears to Peyton and was able to only get half way through the story before Peyton fell asleep. She went to her room and changed into her pajamas before getting into bed. She had some paperwork to go over for a presentation in the morning.

It was nearly eleven when she finished and finally settled in for the night. She couldn't shake what Adam had said. If he didn't want to be with her why would he have said what he had? Was he saying it because he thought that he was supposed to? Did he honestly mean it? She would have to talk to him and set some ground rules about what they could and couldn't talk about because now she was wishing that things could have worked out for them.

XXXX

Connie woke up on Sunday to see Charlie watching her from the couch. He hadn't noticed that she was watching him until she sat up in bed, holding the sheet to her. She didn't know why she was trying to hide behind the sheet; he had seen her wearing less than the cami and boxers that she was wearing. He raked a hand over his face with a sigh. She watched him curiously as he threw his legs over the side of the couch.

Charlie had filled out since she had seen him without a shirt last. He wasn't in as good of shape as Portman or Adam, but he was definitely in shape. Even with his hair sticking out in different directions and even though he needed to shave Connie couldn't deny that he was attractive.

She could hear him in the kitchen as she made way to the bathroom. The smell of coffee smacked her in the face when she opened the bathroom door a minute later. She went back to the room to change and get her things together before going into the kitchen.

Charlie came into the bedroom carrying a cup of coffee for her. She accepted it with a smile and a nod before going back to packing her toiletries into her make up bag. He sat on the bed, picking at a piece of string that had come undone from the quilt absentmindedly.

"What's on your mind?" she asked without looking up from what she was doing.

"Why didn't you to your parent's house this weekend? Be honest with me."

"I honestly don't know. Usually they are the first people that I call when I decide to come down. It was like there was some magnet pulling me down here on Friday and before I knew it, I was here," she explained with a shrug.

"What do you think it meant?"

"I guess it was my minds way of telling me that I needed a weekend away from everything. Things have been pretty crazy lately and I haven't been able to catch my breath."

"I can understand that. You shouldn't put so much strain on yourself," he said with concern.

"I know, but I thrive off of chaos," she said with a sheepish laugh.

"Trust me, I know. You've always been like that," he said with a laugh of his own.

She looked up and gave him a wide grin. He knew her better than she thought he did. He had side blinded her from out of nowhere recently and she had been left reeling. When had he become so charming or empathetic? Why hadn't she noticed it before? She felt like she was getting to know him all over again.

Half an hour later she was putting her bags in the car and he stood a few feet away with his hands shoved into his pockets. She shut the door with a soft thump then turned to face him.

"Thanks for letting me stay here."

"It was the least I could do. You needed a friend and Guy wasn't here," he mumbled.

"He's not as perceptive as you are," she complimented him.

"Can you tell my students that?" he asked hopefully.

"They're kids, it's their job to give you a hard time," she reminded him.

"Call me when you get back so I know that you get back okay," he said, his eyes finally meeting hers.

She nodded before opening her door. He crossed the few feet between them then pulled her to him. She wrapped her arm around his neck, holding him tightly. He kissed her forehead before pulling away.

She saw him watching her as she drove down the street. He was still standing in the yard when she turned the corner. She felt better than she had when she had gotten there on Friday. They had talked late into the night on Friday and gone to the movies on Saturday.

She had a very small circle of friends in New York and they were all designers and models. All they talked about was the business and it was nice to get their opinions on things, but there were times that she wanted to have a normal conversation and not have to talk about work. Charlie hadn't asked about her job unless she had offered information. It had been nice.

She could see herself becoming closer to Charlie. Would that be a bad thing? He knew her just as well as Guy and Julie did. He wasn't the person that she remembered and she was pleasantly surprised to find out more about how he had changed.

She felt sorry for him in a way too. He was handling his divorce well. He hadn't mentioned Linda the entire time that she was there. If she were honest with herself she would say that she had never liked Linda. She was too pushy and bossy, none of the Ducks had liked her.

Charlie was starting to stand on his own two feet again. Connie didn't want to be the rebound girl who ended up getting hurt. They had been friends for too long to make a mess of things and ruin their friendship over something stupid. She would wait until he came to her. She just had to show him that not all women were the same and that she wouldn't hurt him. She would wait, no matter how long it took.


	15. Secrets Never Stay Hidden for Long

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own the Mighty Ducks. But it is nice to think about.**

No one liked the idea of telling their problems to a complete stranger. Who knew if the person actually cared or if they were just feigning concern and sympathy because it was their job? Adam's mother thought that it might help if he went to see a therapist. She gave him the name of the she had used after his father had left her then pleaded with him to make an appointment.

He knew that he wasn't the easiest person to live with right now. He couldn't go one day without snapping at her about something. He felt like he was an adult with all the problems of an angst ridden teenager. Maybe instead of going to see a therapist he should go and talk to Charlie or Fulton. It couldn't hurt.

He broke down and made the appointment after missing Charlie three times in the same day. Fulton was ignoring him, which he understood. Fulton had always been closer to Julie than him anyway.

He sat in the waiting area at the therapist's office alone. His mom had wanted to come with him which he had quickly struck down. He didn't want her feeling sorry for him if the truth miraculously came out. He didn't hold much optimism in that happening.

His name was called and he was led back to the office. A portly man at least ten years older than him with salt and pepper hair sat behind the desk looking down at a folder whom he guessed was his.

"Sit down Mr. Banks," The man said, not looking up from what he was reading.

"You can call me Adam, Mr. Banks is my father," Adam with all the politeness that he could muster.

"Why don't we start off with why you are here?"

"I'm here because my mother wouldn't leave me alone about coming to see you," he said sullenly. _Could I sound any more like a Spoiled Brat?_ He thought bitterly.

"Well then, why do you think that she wants you to come here?"

"I'm going through a difficult time right now," he said tensely.

"Would you care to elaborate on that?" The therapist broached.

"When is my hour up?" Adam countered.

"Not for another forty minutes," he said, giving Adam a stern look.

So much for this guy being nice and sympathetic like all of the therapist's that he had seen on talk shows and in movies. Adam sighed before running a hand through his hair. This guy wasn't going to make things easy for him. He guessed he could tell him a little about what was going on.

"I left my wife recently," Adam said solemnly.

"That can be trying on anyone," The therapist said with a nod in agreement.

"We have two kids together; they're four and a half and ten months."

"They're young enough that what is going on won't be too traumatizing for them."

"That's what we're hoping."

"Why did you leave your wife and children Adam?"

Adam looked down at his hands with a guilty look on his face. He should have known that the guy would come right out and ask him that. He wasn't ready to deal with what was going on. The therapist wrote something in the file in front of him as Adam wrung his hands together.

"Adam I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong?"

"I didn't feel like I was good enough for her, I constantly doubted myself. So I left her."

"Did your wife ever say that you weren't good enough for her?"

"No, Julie never said that. She was a good wife and a great mother. She tried to help me and I pushed her away."

"Your mother mentioned that Depression runs in your family," The therapist broached.

"You still talk to my mother?"

"She comes in once every couple of weeks. You don't need to worry, she's never mentioned you or your brothers." he reassured him.

"You think that I might be depressed?"

"It happens to a lot of people. What kind of work do you do?"

"I'm a cop."

"I see," he said in recognition as he wrote in the folder once more.

"What's wrong with me being a cop?" he asked defensively.

"Absolutely nothing, but it does explain why you're having trouble opening up to me. You probably feel like you shouldn't be here."

"You hit the nail on the head Doc," Adam said darkly.

"I'm going to write you a prescription and I seriously encourage you to take them. I also recommend that you come back in next week. You can get back to me about when it is most convenient for you. I have worked with enough police officers to know that you work odd hours."

"Of course," Adam said with an eye roll.

Adam took the slip of paper from him then shook his other outstretched hand. He stood and saw himself out. In the car he wondered if he had made the right decision by going to see him. Did he really want to drudge up the demons that stemmed not only from his marriage but from his childhood as well? His mom would hound him to go back if he didn't make an appointment on his own. He didn't need her worrying about him constantly. She had other, more important things to worry about.

XXXX

Charlie was grading tests when Guy came home from work late one night. He was quiet as he grabbed a bottled water from the refrigerator then sat across from Charlie. Charlie looked up, knowing that he had something that he wanted to say.

"What made you decide to become a teacher?" he broached.

"It was a series of things. Even though I hated grade and middle school we had teachers EH that made learning seem like it was more than just a chore. Do you remember Mr. Niles?"

"He was an English teacher, right?" he asked in confusion.

"Modern literature, I had him three out of four years that we were in school. He challenged me," Charlie answered with a shrug.

"And he made you want to become a teacher?"

"I had a professor in college who pushed just as hard as Mr. N did. I ended up being a TA for them during my senior year," he answered with a smile.

"Didn't you play hockey in college too?"

"Yep, Coach Summers expected a lot of us. If we didn't give him what he wanted we rode the pine pony. I busted my ass in college and now I have a degree and a job that I love because of it," he said proudly.

"Don't you ever worry that the kids don't respect you?"

"I did when I first started; it took me a long time to find a way to get through to them. After six years I like to think that I am starting to make a difference," he answered honestly.

Guy nodded before opening his water and taking a long pull.

"I'll let you get back to what you were doing," he said as he stood.

He stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder.

"By the way, I know that Connie was here last weekend. Whatever happened, I'm okay with it," he said before walking out of the room.

Charlie stared at the door dumbfounded. How had he found out? He knew that Connie hadn't told him, she hadn't mentioned it when he had talked to her that afternoon. He didn't even know what was going on between them so how could he explain it to Guy?

Charlie stood from the table and down the hall to Guy's room where he was changing out of his work clothes. He was down to his boxers and pulling on a t-shirt when Charlie knocked on the door. Guy looked up once he had the shirt over his head.

"What's up?"

"How did you find out that Connie was here?"

"Mrs. Dabney from next door mentioned it to me when I went to get the paper on Monday morning," he said with a shrug.

"You've known for an entire week, and you are just now telling me?" Charlie asked slowly.

"I figured if something had happened you would have told me," he said with another shrug.

Charlie stared at him dumbfounded as he walked passed him to go into the bathroom. He waited while Guy brushed his teeth and washed his face before leaning against the bathroom door.

"She came here to see you but she decided to stay because she needed a friend."

"You don't need to tell me. I lost that right when I broke up with her in the eighth grade Dude," Guy said with a laugh.

"She broke up with you; get it right," Charlie teased, shoving his shoulder gently.

"Just to be clear; there is something going on with you two, right? All of the Ducks got that impression when we saw the two of you at the reunion."

"I don't know. It wouldn't suck if something did happen. We've both changed since we were kids so we're getting to know each other all over again," Charlie explained.

"Be careful alright? She's not as strong as she wants everybody to think she is," Guy warned.

"I already know that," Charlie confirmed.

Guy nodded before walking back to his room. Sensing that the conversation was closed Charlie walked back up the hall to the kitchen. He gathered his paper work then placed everything in his computer bag. He had balked at the idea of a brief case when Linda suggested it when he had first started teaching. The bag suited him better than some stuffy briefcase. Every time he thought of the idea it made him think of a history teacher that he had in middle school who would slam the case shut as loud as he could to get the classes attention. He still could hear the snap of a briefcase as it is unlocked without inwardly cringing.

He wondered if Guy had told Connie that he knew what was going on. He would have liked to think that she would have called to warn him so that he could get the point that nothing had happened across. Nothing may have happened while she was there but that didn't mean that he hadn't wanted something to happen. Things with Connie were still new and he knew that she had reservations because he was recently divorced. He would have to explain to her that he wasn't looking for a long term relationship, just in case she was. If she was looking for a long term relationship than there was no point in him going any farther.

**AN: I am going to be doing something on my home page and I want you guys to take part in it. I am asking you all to send in questions that I will answer. I have seen questionnaires on other people's pages but I want mine to be more about you guys. So send in your questions, and I will answer them as honestly as I can. I promise that each of you will be credited.**


	16. Honest Words Cut Like a Knife

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mighty Ducks. I am just a writer who is doing what they love, for free.**

Julie was packing Nathan's diaper bag when the doorbell rang. She heard Peyton answer the door and a soon she heard Adam's voice at the bottom of the stairs. Julie came down the stairs a few minutes later with the baby on her hip. Once he saw Adam he reached out for him. Peyton held on to Adam's right hand and he pulled her along until he was in front of Julie. He took the baby while Julie set the diaper bag and Peyton's back pack on the couch.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"Okay, I've been busy with work. I'll be working extra hours for the next few weeks because we have a project coming up that is going to be huge. Three fourths of the company is working on it."

"If you need me to keep the kids for longer I'm sure that I can work around your schedule," he offered.

"If that happens I'll let you know."

He nodded before letting go of Peyton's hand. Peyton turned towards Julie and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Bye Momma," she said into Julie's shirt.

"I'll see you on Wednesday," Julie said into her hair.

She leaned down to kiss Peyton's temple before running her fingers through Nathan's hair. Adam led Peyton out the door and Julie watched them from the front porch. Adam came back to stand in front of her once the kids were strapped in.

"Did you forget something?"

"I wanted to let you know that what happened between us wasn't your fault. I don't want you blaming yourself. There wasn't anything that you could have done that would have changed things."

"How do you know if you didn't let me try?" she asked sadly.

"The only person who can help me is me. I've been diagnosed with depression," he said as he raked a hand through his hair.

"You were diagnosed by a doctor?"

"I went to see a therapist, I have another appointment on Tuesday," he explained.

"So you don't see us getting back together?"

He shook his head with an apologetic look. It was just as well, she needed to be on her own for a while. She had gotten so wrapped up in his problems that she had forgotten who she was. He walked back to the car and waved before getting in. She waved back and smiled when Peyton waved back enthusiastically. She blew Julie a kiss as the car was pulling away.

Once the car was out of sight Julie went back inside. Connie had told her that she spent too much time at home the last time they had talked. She was going to go out and take her mind off of everything.

XXXX

Julie didn't know what she wanted to do first. She could go to the movies, she could go out to dinner or she could go for a stroll down Main Street. She wasn't really hungry and she wanted to wait until the lights along Main Street were turned on. That was the best way to take it in. She stood in line outside of the movie theater debating which movie she wanted to see. It had been a while since she had gone to the movies. Adam had never liked going to the movies, he thought that if a movie was any good they could always buy it when it came out on DVD.

She decided on a movie that someone from work had told her was good. She was next in line at the concession stand when someone brushed against her. She looked over her shoulder to see Portman standing a few inches from her. If it had been anyone else she would have asked them to back off.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Spreading my wings, I haven't been to the movies in probably ten years."

"Then that bucket of popcorn and soda are on me," he said once she had placed her order.

"I'd like to add a box of Junior Mints to my order," she said to the girl behind the counter.

"I am only doing this because it's you," Portman grumbled as he pulled out his wallet.

"Hey, you offered," Julie said with a laugh.

"I offered to pay for the popcorn and soda."

"I earned those Junior Mints too," she said as she turned to look up at him.

He had never been the type to fall for the doe eyed look, but she pulled it off well.

"What movie are you seeing?" he asked as they walked towards the theaters.

"The Hunger Games, what are you seeing?"

"Well, I bought a ticket for The Avengers, but I can see that another time," he said as he followed her down the dimly lit hall.

"I don't need a chaperone. Go see your movie."

"I'd rather hang out with you," he said as they entered the theater.

"We won't be doing much talking," she reminded him.

"We can talk afterwards."

"What have you been up to? I haven't talked to you since we went out to dinner."

"I've been busy. I've been working on a case that's going to be going to trial in the next couple of weeks."

"It sounds like you and I are in the same situation. I've got an ad campaign that is sucking the life out of me. There are still three more weeks of discovery work to do before we launch the product."

"You were lucky to get out tonight then."

"I needed to take my mind off of everything. Adam told me tonight that there was no chance of us getting back together," she admitted sadly.

"He wouldn't have asked for a divorce if he felt that things could be worked out."

"He's seeing a therapist who has diagnosed his with depression."

"At least he's getting help," he reassured her.

She nodded as the lights went down and the previews started. They turned their attention to the movie and Julie was glad to have a break from thinking about all of the things that had been going wrong in her life lately.

XXXX

Portman had suggested that they grab Chinese food before walking back to his apartment. Julie paid for dinner and they talked animatedly for the ten minute walk to his apartment.

"I would kill to have an apartment here."

"There's an apartment free on the first floor," he suggested.

"It's nice to think about, but I would need at least a three bedroom apartment."

"So start looking," he said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"It's not that easy. I have two kids to think of. Peyton is in school and Nathan is in a nursery school program. I would need to find a place close to both schools," she reasoned.

"You can't like living in that house, it's too big for the three of you."

"I know," she said with a nod.

They ate in silence and once they were done he offered to put a movie on.

"I should go home," she declined.

"Now that you know where I live, don't be stranger." he said pulling her to him.

"I'll come by the next time I'm in town," she promised.

"How about we got out to dinner tomorrow night? We could go to Antebellum, that way Guy will have to pay for it," he joked.

"Sure," she said with a laugh.

He squeezed her tightly before letting go. She patted his arm affectionately as she passed him to walk out the door. He fell against the door after shutting it. He didn't know what had come over him when he had tried to pressure her to move closer to him. He wanted to protect her, he always had. Julie may have acted like she didn't need other people's help but he knew better. He could always tell when she was stressed and he had picked up on it tonight. He would make her see that just because her marriage was over that didn't mean that her life was over.

**AN: I know that this chapter was on the short side but sometimes a few words are better than a long winded, drawn out chapter that doesn't have a lot to say. Let ****me know if you like it.**


	17. Want, Need, and Love

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks.**

Charlie was not one of those people that thought things through. It wasn't how he did things. If the mood ever struck him to drive to New Mexico, he would do it. Right now, he had the sudden urge to fly to New York. Technically, he should be at school and yet he was swerving through traffic on his way to the airport. He still didn't know where Connie lived. He could have asked Guy, but that would have opened up a round of questioning that he didn't want to deal with. He would look her up when he got to New York.

He woken up that morning with the realization that he needed to be with Connie. He would do whatever he had to make her see that he was willing to take a chance if she was. He took the turnoff for the expressway, glad that there were very few cars; he would be able to actually speed up a little and make the flight that he had booked on time.

Half an hour later he was waiting for his flight to be called. His phone had rung three times in the past five minutes. It had been his mom, Guy, then finally Jesse. He turned his phone off, not wanting to deal with them right now. They would just try to talk him out of going. He had called the school to let them know that he would be gone for the rest of the week and they had said that it wouldn't be a problem. He was an adult; he could do whatever he wanted.

On the plane he shut out everyone else by grading papers and listening to his iPod. Two hours later he was landing in New York. He donned his sunglasses as he stepped out of the airport. He hadn't planned on their being a line of people a mile long waiting for taxies. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Connie's number.

"Hey, shouldn't you be at school?" she asked in greeting.

"I took a few days off. Can I ask you something without you asking me a bunch of questions?"

"That depends," she said with a light laugh.

"I need your address, your home address. Let's say that I wanted to send you something but I didn't want to send it to the office," he explained.

"Are you sending me flowers?" she asked in a teasing manner.

"Maybe," he said slowly.

She laughed before rattling off her address.

"I have to go, I'm in the middle of prepping for a show tonight, but I expect the concierge at my building to have flowers for me when I get home from you," she said sternly.

Charlie took off on foot through the parking lot. He would have better luck trying to find a cab away from the hustle and bustle of the airport. Fifteen minutes later he had a cab and was headed towards uptown Manhattan. Outside Connie's building the doorman nodded politely as he opened the door for him. Inside, there was a man checking his mail and a woman behind the counter.

The woman looked up, her eyes a mask of confusion.

"Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you could help me. I have a friend who lives in this building, but they have no idea that I am here. Would it be possible for you to let me in their apartment?"

"We aren't permitted to let anyone in without the tenant's notification."

"Couldn't you make an exception, just this once?"

"No," The woman said sternly.

"Please? I promise you that I'll have them give you permission as soon as I can get in touch with them."

"Call them now then," The woman challenged.

"They don't know that I am in town," Charlie explained with a sigh.

"Then I am sorry, I cannot help you," she said in dismissal.

Charlie shook his head in dismay as he headed back out of the building. He was pulling his phone out of his jacket when the door to the building opened once more. There was a hand on his shoulder, causing him to stop.

"Excuse me? Who were you looking for?" The man from the building asked.

"I'm not looking for anyone. I am looking to surprise a friend," Charlie answered with a shake of his head.

"Maybe I can be of help?" The man asked; his British accent dominant.

"If you know where I can find Connie Moreau that would be great."

"I know exactly where she is, I'm headed to see her now."

"Would you be able to get me in?"

"Sure," The man said with a nod.

"What's your name?"

"Robert," he said, holding out his hand.

"Well Robert, you are a life saver. Thank you," Charlie said pumping his hand heartily.

"You're welcome…" Robert said letting the sentence trail off.

"Charlie, my name is Charlie."

"Connie's mentioned you," he said, giving Charlie a once over.

"What is that look supposed to mean?"

"Connie was right."

"She was right about what?"

"Everything," he said vaguely.

Charlie let the subject drop with a shake of his head. If Connie had been talking about him that must mean that she was thinking about him. He held back a smug smile as he followed Robert up Park Avenue.

"How much farther is it?"

"It's another couple of blocks. Sorry, this is the only exercise I can handle. I hate the gym and I think that exercise equipment was invented by Satan," Robert responded with a shrug.

"What about skating?"

"Do I look like a Z Boy weaving through the crowd on a skateboard?"

"I meant ice skating. Connie didn't tell you that she used to play hockey?"

"She mentioned it. She also said something about it helping with my balance."

"You're a model, who has no sense of balance?"

"Yes," Robert said darkly.

Robert crossed the street without warning and Charlie scrambled to follow him.

"You're quick on your feet Charlie Conway," Robert praised.

"Where exactly are you from?"

"Devonshire England, why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering."

"Here we are," he said, stopping in front of a brick building with cage wire over the windows.

"Here? Are you sure?"

"This is the address that Connie texted me," he said pulling the door open.

Charlie stopped at the door, not sure how Connie would react. He had never doubted himself until now. What if she freaked and told him that she never wanted to see him again? Robert walked back out, shaking his head in dismay.

"I may be gay, but even I know a desperate woman when I see one. She'll want to you here."

They made their way to the elevator in silence. Robert held Charlie's hand in a vice like, almost crushing grip. He closed the elevator grate with one hand. Charlie was able to pull his hand out of Robert's grasp as the elevator crawled at a snail's pace to the third floor.

The elevator came to a shrieking halt and Robert pulled the grate open once more. They stepped out to find workers setting up chairs, carpenters working on the runway and another group of people setting up a booth for what Charlie wasn't sure. People passed them in a blur, acknowledging them as they passed.

"Let's see if we can find the boss," Robert said as he headed towards the curtain behind the stage.

"I'll stay here," Charlie said cautiously.

"Fine, I'll just bring her to you," he called over his shoulder.

Charlie exhaled loudly, wondering if Robert needed a lesson in manners to go along with his attitude adjustment. Were all models as blunt as he was? Connie came out from behind the curtain, her eyes wide as she walked down the runway. Her hair was a mess and she had a push pin band on her wrist with pins sticking out of it. She walked down the stairs to Charlie slowly, almost as if she were treading water. Charlie smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"When you said that you had something to send to my apartment I never thought it would be you. This is such a surprise," she said with a breathless, shocked laugh.

"You know me, I'm full of surprises," he said with a nervous smile.

"I'm surprised that I had forgotten that. Come to the back?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure."

She took one of his hands in hers, linking their fingers loosely. They were generally ignored by the people they passed and when Connie steered them through a throng of people backstage towards a door marked storage no one batted an eyelash.

"Karen, cover for me," Connie said as she pulled the door open.

Charlie was able to shut the door behind him before she pushed him against a metal shelving unit. Her hands pushed his jacket away from his waist, pulling his shirt out of his pants. He crushed his lips to hers in a needy kiss. She pulled away quickly, creating a few inches of space between them.

"This is crazy right?" she asked breathlessly.

"I have to say that I haven't made out in a closet since I attempted to make out with Tammy Duncan when we were twelve."

She gave him an amused look before rolling her eyes. He shrugged his shoulders innocently, glad that Fulton had never found out. They may have been friends and the incident might have happened before Fulton developed feelings for Tammy but Fulton still would have been hurt by the information when they were younger.

"How far did you get?" Connie asked, running her fingers through his hair.

"That is for me and Tammy to know and for you to never find out," he said with a mock stern look.

"How about I guess? Let's see, did you get this far?" she asked before placing her lips to his neck, kissing him lightly.

"No," he said huskily.

"Hmm, did you try this?" she asked, lifting one of her legs to wrap it around his waist.

"Definitely not," he said his voice thick with lust.

"This?" she asked before unbuttoning the buttons of his shirt to press her hands to his chest.

Charlie shook his head, his usually clear eyes darkening before her eyes. One of his hands went to her waist to help keep her stable while the other bunched her shirt, pulling it over her head with ease. His skin singed where her hands had been for the fleeting second that she took her hands away so that she could pull her shirt off the rest of the way. Her hands pushed off his jacket and shirt at the same time.

She unwound her leg from around his waist to unzip the side zipper of her skirt and toe her pumps off. Charlie shed his pants, not before pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. He flipped it open pulling a silver wrapper. He set the condom on the shelf beside him as he toed off his shoes.

"You carry a condom around in your wallet?" Connie asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Your ex-boyfriend put it there not long after I moved in with him. I don't think he planned that I would be using it on you," Charlie said with a chuckle.

Connie giggled as she closed the distance between them once more. He reached behind her to unclasp her bra then she wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked down at her lovingly, taking her in. He was amazed that she was so accepting. She had understood without question what he wanted. It amazed him even more that she wanted it too.

He reached down to push his boxers down his hips with one hand, his others pushing her underwear down. She shimmed hers down her legs while he kicked his boxers off the rest of the way.

"How quiet can you be?" he asked.

"We don't need to worry about anyone hearing us, even though they all know what we're doing."

"How do you know? Am I not the first guy you've brought back here?"

"The models use this room for a whole slew of things. Sex is one of them."

"Does it bother you that they all know what they're doing?"

"We're both grownups Charlie. You can say the word sex and no, it doesn't bother me that they will know," she said with a coy smile.

Charlie shook his head with a devilish smile. Connie reached for the condom, tearing the package open.

"I really hate to say this, but we need to speed this up. My show starts in an hour," she said in explanation.

She rolled the condom down his erection when he didn't answer her. Charlie picked her up off the ground and carried her to a desk in the corner. Once she was on the desk she spread her legs open far enough for him to settle between them. He gently slid into her, finding that she would need to be stretched slightly.

"I'm a big girl, just push," she said with an impatient groan.

He gave one forceful shove and she whimpered lightly, biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain. Even if she had asked him to do it, he still didn't like hurting her. He gave her a minute to get used to him before pushing against her once more. She moaned, letting him know that the pain was over and that she was enjoying herself. He rested his hands on the desk on either side of her before leaning down to kiss her. Her hands rested on his shoulders, digging her nails into his shoulder blades.

He groaned, loving the feeling of being inside her. They hadn't defined what was going on between them yet and here they were already sleeping together. He was going about the situation all wrong but he didn't care. If she decided that she wanted to wait a while before they slept together again than he would just have to live with it.

Connie pulled away from him to lean against the wall breathless. He pumped in and out of her relentlessly, wanting his emotions to come across in his love making. She smiled, letting him know that she understood. Her breath hitched seconds before her walls constricted around him. He fell against her his hands against the wall to support him as his seed spilled into the condom two powerful thrusts later. She placed kisses along his jaw, cheek and finally his lips as her fingers threaded into his sweat slicked hair.

"I have to get back to work," she said with remorse.

He pulled away from her to gather her clothes. Once he handed them to her he pulled off the condom, looking for a place to throw it away.

"From what I hear, the guys stash their used condoms in the top right hand drawer," she offered.

"You sure know a lot about this place for someone who's never been in here," he teased.

"Hey, models have no shame, okay?" she said with a laugh, smacking his butt playfully.

He laughed lightly as he dressed. She sat on the desk, taking him in. She was glad that he had taken the first step and made the trek to see her. She thought that she would have to break down and make up another excuse to go and see him again. He still didn't know that she had lied about being homesick or that Guy had been in on her last trip to Minnesota. She would eventually tell him that she had felt something for him the night that she had talked to him at the reunion and had been agonizing over what to do ever since.

He led the way out of the room and followed her to the bank of lighted mirrors where the models were getting their hair and makeup done. She rifled through her bag until she found her keys then handed them to Charlie.

"You cannot stay here, you'll just be a distraction and I need my head as clear as I can get it. I should be home by seven, and you had better be ready for round two," she said the last sentence just loud enough for him to hear.

He grinned, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"There's just one thing. I need you to call and give the guy with the stick up his ass permission for me to be there."

"I'll take care of Ronald," she promised.

Charlie made his way back down the catwalk only to be stopped by Robert. Robert grinned evilly, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Charlie grinned back as he passed him. Maybe the guy wasn't so bad after all.

XXXX

Julie had been meaning to catch Fulton and Sara up on what was happening. Fulton asked about the kids and Adam every time he called. She had been keeping her time spent with Portman from him because she knew how he would react. He had tried doggedly to get them together while they were school to no avail. He would start up again as soon as he found out that she and Portman had been spending time together.

Sara had caught her off when she had called yesterday. She had never had them over without having the kids or Adam around as a buffer. She wouldn't have the kids to use as a bargaining chip if they tried to pressure her for answers, which she knew that they would do. They were more menacing than the FBI when it came to getting information out of people.

She picked up a case of Fulton's favorite beer then stopped to get Chinese food from Sara's favorite restaurant before heading home. They would be there soon and she wanted to have the beer chilled, ready and waiting. She tidied up the house from where the kids had left a mess that morning before Adam had come to get them. She'd had him get them a day early because she would be spending the next week buried deep in work. He was taking the week off from work and taking the kids to St. Paul to see his dad.

Half an hour after she had gotten home Fulton opened the door, calling out her name. She answered back from the kitchen, pouring him a frosty mug of beer. He took it, giving her a smile of gratitude.

"Where's Sara?"

"She's in the living room. Where are the kids?" he asked before taking a long pull from his mug.

"They're in St. Paul for a week. Adam took them to see his dad. He hasn't seen Nate yet."

Fulton nodded, setting the glass down. Sara came into the room, walking to Julie with a smile. She pulled Julie in for a hug, squeezing her tightly.

"What have you been up to? I haven't talked to you in weeks," she asked, pushing her auburn hair out of her eyes.

"Not a lot. I've been working like crazy."

"Is that so? You haven't had any down time? Maybe you went to the movies?" Fulton pressed.

"How did you find out?"

"There's this thing called Twitter, and Portman knows how to use it," he said with a devilish grin.

"You went out with Portman?" Sara asked with wide eyes.

"Technically no, I ran into him at the movies. He invited me to have dinner at his apartment," Julie said in defense.

"You can date whoever you want. I don't see why you didn't tell me," Fulton said with a shrug.

"I'd rather not go through the Spanish Inquisition," Julie grumbled.

"So have you seen him since?" Sara asked.

"We went out to dinner last week. You know what, why don't I call him? I shouldn't be the only put under a hot light," she said reaching for her phone.

"I already thought of that. He's working tonight," Fulton said with a shake of his head.

Julie growled in frustration as she readied the food for the oven and stovetop. It figures that she would be all alone in this.

"So what is going on with you two?" Sara asked.

"That's between them."

"That has never stopped you before. You grilled Adam for an entire day when you found out that we were together," Julie said with furrowed eyebrows.

"This is different. This is Portman, I know him just as well as you do. I have nothing to say to him that I can't say to you."

"That figures," she mumbled, sliding a baking sheet of egg rolls into the oven.

"Fulton, go in the other room," Sara said abruptly.

"Why?" he asked with a grunt.

"Because Jules and I need to talk," she countered.

"Female stuff, I'm out of here," he said, grabbing his beer before heading out of the room.

Sara waited for the kitchen door to swing close before coming to lean against the counter a few feet from Julie.

"I should have known that he would have no problems with this. Portman doesn't even know that Fulton was on his page that night. He was having a private conversation with his cousin and I told Fulton that it was a bad idea to be snooping like that. Are you two taking this slow?"

"Snail's pace," Julie confirmed with a nod.

"Good. I know that you don't want him to get hurt any more than you want to. He's such a good guy."

"I know."

"Have the two of you talked about her?"

Julie knew exactly who she was referring to. She nodded, her lips forming a tight line. Portman had been forthcoming about how he was feeling about the situation and told her that he hadn't seen anyone since. She was just as scared as he was.

"He's doing so much better than he was a year ago. But you, you still have a while to go before you'll be ready to move on," Sara observed.

"Don't you think that I know that? I am trying to rebuild my friendship with Portman. I have no intention of dating him," Julie said with a scoff.

What she had said wasn't exactly true; but she wasn't about to tell Sara or even Fulton that. Portman wasn't the person that he was ten years ago. They had been changed so much; she had become jaded, while he was unabashedly debonair. She hadn't been prepared for that.

Sara watched Julie as she grabbed plates from the cabinet next to the refrigerator. She didn't believe Julie, but until she was proved wrong she would leave the situation alone and hope that she and Portman didn't ruin what was left of their tattered friendship.

XXXX

Connie unlocked the apartment hearing nothing. There wasn't as much as a creak of the floorboards to let her know that Charlie was there. The loft was awash with candle light making her smile. He must have light every candle she owned. She made her way to the kitchen to see Charlie hunched over the counter, the light sounds of a knife chopping something was the only sound.

"Hey," she said, breaking the silence.

"Hey. You're early," he said over his shoulder.

"I rescheduled all of my interviews for next week."

"Isn't that unprofessional?" he asked in confusion.

"No. It just means that I am in high demand. If they really want to talk to me then they'll wait."

"I bought a bottle of wine, make yourself a glass. Dinner should be ready in half an hour."

"I didn't know that you could cook."

"You don't live with Guy without learning a few things. It's only spaghetti," he said impishly.

"Spaghetti or not, I haven't had someone cook for me since I moved here," she said as she hopped onto the counter next to him.

He looked up with a pleased smile and she leaned down to brush her lips to his.

"So how did the show go?"

"Good. Everyone asked about you. Half of the girls were very happy to find out that we weren't together," she teased.

"What about the other half?"

"They like girls, but they did say that you were very cute," she reassured him

"Were you surprised that I showed up?"

"Very. I'm glad you did."

"I am too," he agreed.

"I hate to sound ungrateful, but why did you come up?"

"I had to see you. I wanted you to know that I can't spend one more day without you knowing how I feel," he said with a sigh.

"This is not the Charlie Conway that I am used to, but I like him," she said sounding pleased.

"I've only felt this way about one other person Cons and that blew up in my face. We're going to have to go slow, like tortoise slow," he said, setting the knife he was using in the sink.

"I know," she said with a nod.

"So what do you think? Do we have a chance?"

"I'd like to try if you want to. I haven't been able to get you off of my mind for the past month and a half," she admitted.

"Really now?" he asked with a lopsided grin.

"You know how to work your way into a girl's heart, don't you?" she murmured.

"I try," he said with a shrug.

"Who knew that Charlie 'Spazway' Conway could be charming?" she said with an excited giggle.

"It boggles the mind," he said with an exaggerated eye roll.

He put the vegetables that he had chopped into the spaghetti sauce before standing in front of her. She leaned in, kissing him with everything that she had. For once she wasn't going to think about the bad things that could happen. She was going to jump and think of the repercussions later. His fingers threaded in her hair, pulling gently. She sighed against his lips before opening her mouth to him. His tongue massaged hers gently, making her forget everything around her. If she wasn't careful she was going to grow attached and wouldn't be able to let him leave when it came time.

He pulled away, brushing her away from her face. He gave her a look that let her know that he knew what she was thinking. She sighed, pushing the thought from her mind. She would worry about her world crashing down on her when the time came.


	18. The Heart Wants What the Heart Wants

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks.**

**AN: This chapter contains a smidge lemon.**

Charlie had spent most of Saturday touring the city with Robert. It turns out that Robert wasn't such a bad guy. He was a history teacher at a middle school in the Bronx. He modeled so that he would have money to send back to England for his family. Connie was always careful to only hire him for weekend shoots and shows unless it was absolutely necessary. Robert wasn't that different than he was, if you looked passed the fact that he liked boys.

Connie took Charlie out to dinner at Tavern on the Green that night and they talked until a waiter came to tell them that they would be closing soon. In the cab, she slipped a hand onto his leg rubbing him through his pants. He looked towards her and made out the outlines of an evil smirk as they passed under a street light. He was not going to take that and not retaliate.

He placed a hand on her thigh, pushing her legs apart gently before his hand disappeared up her skirt. Her breath hitched when he pushed aside her underwear to slip a finger into her folds. She fumbled with his belt buckle but they pulled up in front of her building before she could undo his pants.

Charlie led them to the elevator and waited until the elevator closed to reach behind him to push the stop button. Connie put a hand on his arm to stop him, shaking her head no.

"I can wait," she said breathlessly.

She stood in front of him to hide his erection from anyone who might happen to be in the hall. Once in her apartment he claimed that he needed a shower and asked her if she wanted to join him.

"You go ahead. I'm going to change out of these clothes. I swear I can still smell cigarette smoke on me," she said, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"A shower would help," he said enticingly.

"Nice try, but these walls are paper thin just like the ones in the janitor's closet. I wouldn't care if my neighbor on the other side of my bathroom wasn't an eighty year old man who likes to complain if I make the slightest sound."

Charlie took the fastest shower he had ever taken, not bothering with a towel because it would just be one more thing that would need to be pulled off. He stopped in the entryway to Connie's bedroom to see her asleep on top of the blanket in a sexy white cami and thong set. He didn't have the heart to wake since he knew that she'd had a long day and he that she would probably bitch him out if he woke her up.

He pulled on a pair of boxers before pulling a blanket down from the top of her closet. He got into bed before pulling the blanket over them. Connie rolled over to face him and he draped an arm over her hip. He drifted off to sleep to the sounds of traffic and the voices of people out enjoying the nightlife.

XXXX

_There are some perks to having the kids stay with Adam._ Julie thought to herself. One, counted out in her head was that they got to spend time with their dad and their grandmother, but this weekend it would be their granddad. She didn't know how she felt about that. Tuck Banks wasn't high on her list of favorite people and she knew that she wasn't liked by him either. They had clashed since she was a teenager over everything from the way he treated his family to his nonexistent role in his family's life.

The second thing that was good about the kids spending time with Adam was more selfish than she cared to admit. With the kids gone she got a lot more work done and was able to unwind in ways that she couldn't when they were around. She not only had a little time to herself but she had time to think and clear her head.

She loved Peyton and Nathan but she needed the time alone to decompress even if she did miss them. She would wait by the window waiting for Adam to pull into the driveway and would welcome Peyton with welcome arms when she came running towards her. She would hold her little boy to her taking in his distinctive baby smell with a sentimental smile while his sister told her excitedly about what they had done with their dad.

They wouldn't be home for a few more days and she was at a loss as to what to do with her time. It was the first weekend that she'd had free in over a month. Usually she would go to mass and then she would spend the rest of the day running errands. She had chosen to sleep in telling herself that she would take the kids to Saturday and Sunday mass to make up for it next weekend. There were no errands to run, no trip to the grocery store since she had a few frozen dinners in the freezer

She could call Sara and see if she wanted to do anything. Fulton was probably still at hockey practice because Charlie had called and asked him to fill in for him. She could call her mom for her weekly call, but she usually did that after Sunday mass. She looked up at the clock with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. It was six o' clock on a Saturday and she had absolutely no plans. She was pathetic. She stood from the couch and made her way to the kitchen to grab her phone from its charger.

She scrolled through her contact list in dismay as she mentally checked off each person. They either had plans of their own or they weren't worthy of her time. She paused, taking a second as she stopped at a name. She pressed send without thinking twice.

"Hello?" Portman answered on the first ring.

"Hey," she said listlessly.

"You sound as bored as I do," he said with a grunt.

"Do you want to do something?" she asked hopefully.

"Can't, I'm stuck at work," he said with a sigh.

"Ugh, you suck!" she said with a growl.

"Trust me; I would rather be anywhere but here."

"How much longer should you be?"

"I'm gonna be here all night. I've got a lot of search and discovery work ahead of me."

"You can't take an hour to have dinner with me?"

"Tell you what. If you'll bring dinner here I'd be willing to take a break."

"I'll be there in half an hour."

She turned off her phone, slipping it into her bag along with her wallet and keys. She was out the door thirty seconds later, not bothering to turn out the lights that she had left on in the living room and kitchen. The last talk that she'd had with Sara ran through her head as she drove. She pushed it to the back of her mind with an aggressive growl. She was not going to think about that right now. She and Portman were adults. Two adults could be friends without romantic trappings getting in the way couldn't they?

XXXX

Connie woke up to an empty bed on Sunday morning. She knew that she needed to talk to Charlie before he left but she was afraid of his reaction. She acted without thinking for the first time in years and now she was regretting it. She needed to be honest with him, it wouldn't be so bad.

She smelled coffee mixed with cinnamon and apples from the kitchen. She pulled herself out of bed, grabbing her bathrobe before leaving the room. She tied the robe as she made her way down the hall to the kitchen. Charlie was leaning over the oven when she came to stand in the archway of the kitchen.

"What are you doing?"

"I went out and got breakfast. You still like apple popovers, right?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod.

She shuffled to the coffee pot, her eyes bleary as she poured herself a cup. She shoved her hair out of her eyes before turning to face him.

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked as he brushed butter over the popovers.

"I did. I'm sorry about last night, I was exhausted," she said with a sheepish smile.

"I came here to spend time with you and that's what we did. No apologies needed," he said honestly.

"What time is your flight?"

"Not until three."

"I have to be honest with you. I wasn't exactly honest when I said that okay with our situation," she said cautiously.

"What's going on?" he asked in concern.

"It's not that I don't have feelings for you because I do. I've never been in a long distance relationship before and I'm scared," she said hurriedly.

"Cons, it's okay that you're scared. I'm scared too, but I am willing to work through it because I feel that you're worth it."

"You are too, but you've been through this before. I want to be strong for you but I don't think I can. I won't have you here to hold me if something is wrong, I won't have you here to vent to when one of my shows or shoots goes to shit. I am going to need you and yet you won't be here," she said pleadingly.

"I don't want you to change for me. I know that you'll need me just like I'll need you. Connie if I could pack up and move here I would. The school year is only half over and I have a contract with them for the next two years," he explained.

"I understand. If you don't want to be with me, I understand," she said quietly.

"I did not say that," he said crossing the short distance to her.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly as she breathed deeply to keep her emotions in check. He rubbed her back soothingly wanting to assuage her fears. He didn't know what had come over her but he was glad that she had been honest with him. He knew that things weren't going to be easy but he was willing to fight for her.

XXXX

Julie stood outside Portman's office building waiting for someone to let her in. She'd had to press the buzzer four times before someone finally answered. A janitor who had probably been around when Jesus was alive slowly pushed a cart across the lobby. Julie rapped on the door to get his attention and his head jerked up in surprise. He hobbled to the door to open it just enough to stick his head out.

"We're closed, come back tomorrow morning at seven," he said politely.

"I'm here to see someone who works in the building, they're expecting me," she explained.

"No lawyer in this building receives clients after hours Miss," The man said sternly.

"She's not a client Earl," Portman said from somewhere in the lobby.

He came around a corner as Earl let Julie in. She gave Earl a thankful smile before he pushed his cart into one of the bathrooms. Her eyes met Portman's and she held up the bag of Chinese takeout that she held in one hand while her other balanced a drink holder.

Portman took them both from her then led the way to the elevator. He was silent until they were inside his office with the door shut.

"Sorry I couldn't come down sooner. How long had you been down there?"

"Almost ten minutes. Some guy finally answered the intercom and said he'd send someone to let me in."

"You brought Chinese, you are officially my favorite person," he said endearingly.

"I've always been your favorite person," she teased.

"True," he said opening a carton of sweet and sour chicken.

Julie handed him the cup of sauce along with a pair of chopsticks before opening her steamed chicken and broccoli.

"Since when do you eat that?" he asked in between mouthfuls.

"Since I'm not a teenager anymore, I'm still trying to lose the last little bit of weight that I gained when I had Nate."

"How are the kids doing?"

"They're good, Adam called last night and I got to talk to them. Tuck's girlfriend wants Peyton to call her Mammaw," she said with an eye roll.

"What do you have to say about that?"

"Luckily I don't have to say anything. Adam set the girl straight."

"'Girl'?" Portman asked with an amused grin.

"All Adam would say is that she's younger than we are," she said with a tight lipped smile.

"If I were Adam I would have smacked her teeth down her throat."

"That would have gone over really well," she said exaggeratingly.

Portman shrugged as he continued to eat. Julie smiled, glad that Portman was on her side. He always had been she had just forgotten about him for a while. She wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

"How have you been?" he asked to break the silence.

"Busy but good, today's the first day that I haven't had anything to do in a month. I was going stark raving mad just staring at the paint peel on my living room wall. Which reminds me, I need to do something about that," she said with a sigh.

"I can take care of it if you want," he offered.

"I can paint my own living room, but thank you for offering," she said with a shake of her head.

"Is it so hard to accept help from someone?" he asked.

"I'm not used to people offering to help," she murmured.

"You don't have to do everything on your own," he said in concern.

"I'm used to it. You're the first person other than Connie who has helped me in the past year and a half. The last guy I trusted left me, give me some credit Dean," she said sadly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you," he said apologetically.

"I'm sorry too. You were just trying to help."

Silence fell over them once more but the tension was still there. Julie wished that she hadn't brought up Adam but she couldn't take it back now. Portman was nothing like Adam and she had no right to compare them. She felt guilty but she knew that at least for now that Adam would be the white elephant that followed her and Portman wherever they went.

XXXX

Guy had asked no questions when Charlie came home that night. He gave him his space while he called Connie to let him know that he had gotten home and he hadn't raised an eyebrow when he'd had to spend half an hour trying to persuade Connie to hang up the phone for over an hour because he had to be up early the next morning.

Charlie had finally hung up the phone just before eleven. He was mentally and physically drained. He had been lucky to have been able to talk her into letting him leave. This wasn't a side of Connie that he was used to seeing. He wished that there were something that he could do.

"So, what did you do this weekend?" Guy asked from his bedroom door.

"Not a lot, I went and saw Gordon," Charlie said with a shrug.

"How's he doing?"

"He's doing a lot better," he said with a nod.

Gordon had been in an accident a month ago so Guy would have no problem believing that Charlie had made the two hour trek to see him. Guy nodded before pushing away from the door.

"Hey Guy?" Charlie called.

"Charlie?" he asked from his room.

"What did you do this weekend?"

"I didn't do a whole lot. I went out on a date last night and I helped Fulton out with the game tonight," he said as he stood at Charlie's door once more.

"Who's the lucky girl?"

"Somebody we went to grade and middle school with, you probably wouldn't remember her," he said with a nervous smile.

"Bring her by and then I can get to know her."

"Maybe," he said with a nod.

Guy walked back to his room and Charlie turned out his light before settling into bed. He would probably be up half the night worrying about Connie. If things got worse he would call Julie and get her opinion. He just hoped that things didn't come to that.


	19. A United Front

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mighty Ducks.**

**AN: I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to get this out. I've had a lot going on family wise and I walked away from this story. But, I**** am back now and I promise that I won't leave you guys hanging for two months before updating again.**

She was a glutton for punishment, she had to be. What person in the right mind would invite their estranged, soon to be ex-husband to dinner? Julie shook her head in dismay as she set the table. She had invited him over so that they could talk about what would happen once the divorce was final. She wanted a civil relationship with him. If the kids saw that they got along it would make things a lot easier.

Charlie and Fulton had both told her that inviting Adam over was a bad idea. They had seen firsthand just how unstable Adam was. He was keeping a brave face for Julie so that she wouldn't see what was going on. She had seen him like that before and she was not looking forward to going through it again.

Peyton watched TV in the living room while Nathan sat in his playpen on the other side of the kitchen playing quietly. Julie would hear him gurgling every so often to let her know that he was fine.

She was putting yeast rolls into the oven when the doorbell rang. Peyton could be heard running through the house and Julie cautioned her to ask who it was before opening the door.

"Daddy!" she called happily.

Nathan raised his head, his eyes shining brightly; he was daddy's little man already. Adam came into the kitchen carrying a bottle of wine in one hand and a bag in the other.

"I brought them something," he explained when Julie eyed the bag.

"That's fine. Thank you for bringing the wine, I don't have any," she said with a pleased smile.

"You're welcome," he said placing the bottle in the refrigerator.

He made his way over to the playpen and picked up Nathan before kneeling down to Peyton's level. He reached into the bag and pulled out a coloring book and crayons for Peyton and a small teddy bear for Nathan. Peyton made a beeline for the table so that she could look through her book. Nathan clutched his bear, holding onto Adam's neck.

"What do you say Peyton?" Julie asked.

"Thank you, Daddy."

"You're welcome."

"Dada," Nathan said patting Adam's shoulder.

"Yes, I'm your Dada," he answered brushing his fingers through Nathan's hair.

Julie was glad that Adam was willing to get along with her for the kid's sake. She wouldn't have been able to take it if he had frozen her out completely. Even though they were no longer together, a part of her would always love him because he was the father of her children.

She was thankful that they were still on speaking terms. Not all relationships were easy and she had always been good at navigating her way through hard times, like now. She would hold her head high. She would never let Adam know how much she was hurting. She had done that while they were married and it had driven him away.

Adam set the table while Julie pulled dinner out of the oven. She had made baked spaghetti, which was Adam's favorite. They sat at the table and unlike when they were married Julie led them in prayer before dinner. Adam felt that she should do it since he no longer lived there. They talked idly through dinner, Peyton told them about school and Adam talked about his mom and brothers.

Peyton watched a movie in the living room and Nathan was put to bed after dinner. Julie told Adam about work while he helped her clean the kitchen.

"You're working an awful lot," he said in concern.

"I have to, I have a family to support," she reminded him.

"I can help with that," he stated.

"I don't expect you to," she said quietly.

"They're my kids too Jules," he said with a sigh.

"I know they are Adam, but I don't want to be one of those women who hound their ex-husbands for alimony and child support."

"Well then I'll only give you child support, and you won't be hounding me for money. I want to make sure that Peyton and Nate have the best of everything, just like you do."

"Is it too late to put it into the divorce settlement?"

"I don't think so."

"I'll call my lawyer about it in the morning."

Adam nodded his head in agreement before placing the towel that he was using to dry dishes in the laundry room. He gathered his things then said goodbye to Peyton before leaving. He was glad that he had talked to Julie. They had agreed to have an open and honest friendship. He wanted her to be able to tell him everything about the kids. If they needed something he wanted to help her provide for them. He never wanted her to feel like she was raising them on her own.

XXXX

The house was quiet when Guy came home from his date. He paused outside Charlie's room and heard Charlie's deep breathing through the door. He knocked lightly and Charlie answered the door with bleary eyes and disheveled hair.

"Can I talk to you?"

"It's almost midnight," Charlie said in observation.

"It'll only take a few minutes and then you can go back to bed."

"Come on in," Charlie said, opening the door wider.

Guy sat in the desk chair while Charlie sat on the edge of the bed.

"I know that you're dating Connie," Guy acknowledged.

"Did she tell you?" Charlie asked his eyebrows knitted in concern.

"No, I figured it out on my own."

"How?" he asked with wide eyes.

"I got the impression that something was going on when I had to find out from someone else that she had been here to see you. Gordon was the first person I called when you went AWOL. I figured that you would tell me when you were ready," he said with a shrug.

"I'm not the only one keeping secrets. Does anyone know that you're seeing someone?"

"My parents do, they are the only people that matter," he said with an even look.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up," he said apologetically.

"No worries. I invited her to dinner this weekend."

"Do you want me to make myself scarce?"

"No," he said with a laugh.

"What's her name?"

"Sky Harrison."

"Isn't she the girl who used to steal Averman's lunch money when we were elementary school?"

"She's changed a lot since she was ten years old Conway," he said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Averman still can't hear her name without cringing," Charlie said with a chuckle.

"Now that I'm being honest with you I want you to be honest with me. No more lying and sneaking around. Agreed?"

"Yeah," Charlie said with a nod.

Guy stood silently and made his way to the door. Charlie got back into bed glad that Guy knew the truth. When had he gotten so perceptive? He was too busy running two businesses to pick up on things without a little prodding.

Charlie hadn't planned on Connie coming back into his life and affecting him the way that she had. He had been single for a total of two months out of the past fourteen years. Gone was the boy who believed that he was better off alone. Being with Linda had forced him to realize how much he relied on people to be there for him. It had taken him a long time to let people in because he was so used to his mom being the only one to care about what he did.


	20. A Change for the Better

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks.**

**AN: I know that I promised not to neglect this story but I went an entire month without writing anything new. I only updated stories that I**** had backlogged on my computer because I was going through a lot emotionally and I had some family issues. Now that that has all passed I'm able to update this story again.**

After working eighteen hour days for two weeks Julie was craving normalcy. With less than a week before the ad campaign that she had been working was due to launch she felt like she was running around in circles most days. The kids were spending a lot more time with Adam and since his mom was getting worse he had hired a nanny to come in for a few hours a day so that he wouldn't have to take time off from work.

The kids had been home for less than an hour when the phone rang while Julie was in the shower. Nathan was down for his nap and Peyton was watching TV in Julie's room. Peyton came into the bathroom with the phone and yelled to be heard over the noise of the shower.

"Mom, telephone," she called.

"Who is it?" Julie questioned.

She could hear Peyton talking to the person as she turned off the shower. Peyton was holding out the phone when she opened the shower door.

"It's Dean," she answered.

Julie took the phone from her once she had wrapped a towel around her and stepped out of the shower.

"Hey."

"I would have told her that you could call me back if she had told me that you were in the shower," he said with a chuckle.

"It's fine. Whatcha need?"

"I was wondering if you had plans for tonight."

"Nope, me and the kids are gonna stay in. They've been at Adams during the week for the past three weeks so I'm spending time with them. Do you want to come over?"

"Sure. I haven't seen you in a while and I was wondering what you had been up to."

"I've been working myself into the ground. I've got a few more days before my new campaign launches."

"What is this one for?"

"Dasani has a new sparkling water that they've come out with."

"Have you tried it?"

"Yes, and I don't like them. I don't have to either. I just have to come up with a way for people to buy them."

"That should be your slogan," he said with a chortle.

"I'm not kidding, the stuff is nasty."

"I'll remember not to buy it when I see it in the store. Thanks for the heads up."

"Not a problem. Come over about five, okay? I'll make a pizza and rent some movies."

"That sounds good."

"I'll see you later."

"See you later."

Portman was just the person to take her mind off of everything. Even as a teenager he had a knack for getting her to unwind and getting inside her head that no one else could do except for Adam. She was thankful that he was willing to rebuild their friendship again. Even though she hadn't seen him in almost a month, she didn't let more than a few days go by without talking to him. He let her vent and gave her sound advice. It was like nothing had changed.

XXXX

He turned in a full circle, taking in the now nearly empty room. The only things left in it were the desk, bed, dresser and nightstand that had been in the room when he had moved in. He had completely removed any trace of his ever living there. He was thankful that Guy had let him stay with him until he had gotten back on his feet but he knew that he couldn't stay there forever. It was time that he left and stopped depending on everyone else.

Turning in his resignation at school hadn't been easy. He was using what money he had to make the trip to New York and he would probably be crashing on Connie's couch until he could find a job and a place to live. He felt a twinge of panic as he carried the last box out to his car. The only person who knew that he was leaving was his mom. She had been apprehensive about his leaving but she understood why he needed to leave.

Other than his mom, there was nothing holding him back from leaving. He had purposely waited for the hockey season to be over so that they would have a chance to find someone before next season. The only hitch in his leaving was that he more than likely wouldn't be able to find a teaching job until the fall which meant that he would need to find a temporary job for the next six months.

He left a note for Guy on the kitchen table along with his keys for the house before walking out of the house for the last time. He didn't look in the rearview mirror as he pulled away from the house. It wouldn't do him any good and it wouldn't change things. After the year he'd had he needed a new start, he wasn't going to get that by staying in Minnesota.

XXXX

Julie was drying Nathan after giving him a bath when Peyton let Portman in. Julie had spent an hour at the store because she couldn't remember what he liked on his pizza so she had bought a little bit of everything hoping that he didn't turn his nose up to it. She heard footsteps on the stairs while she tried to put a diaper on Nathan. He was being difficult, wiggling and scooting away from her screaming at the top of his lungs in protest. He quieted down when Portman came to stand behind her. His eyes lit up and he smiled a wide gummy smile. Julie sighed in victory when he settled down and let her finish getting him dressed.

"Of course he settles down when he sees you. He thinks you're the greatest thing second to his favorite ball," she said when Nathan reached out for him.

"I didn't see any pizza downstairs. It's so typical of a woman to promise food and then not come through," he teased.

"I'm letting you make your own," she stated.

"I've got to work for my dinner?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"It's fun," she reasoned.

"Cooking is fun?"

"Making pizza is fun," she corrected him.

"I can take him off your hands."

She handed him over then he headed downstairs while she threw Nate's dirty clothes in the laundry basket and hung up his towel. She cleaned up the water that had sloshed out of the tub hearing laughter from downstairs. She smiled, glad that the kids had been so receptive of Portman.

Once she was downstairs she got everything ready to make dinner. She called Portman and Peyton into the kitchen once everything was laid out. Peyton climbed onto a stool and immediately started spreading sauce onto a ready-made pizza crust. Portman looked at everything lined up on the island in scrutiny.

"Are we really going to use all of this?"

"I couldn't remember what you liked on your pizza so I bought way too much."

"It's a good thing that I like everything except the kitchen sink and fish on my pizza," he answered before spooning a small amount of sauce onto a pizza.

They talked and laughed while the assembled their pizzas and once they were in the oven Portman helped Julie clean the kitchen. She made a salad while he sat at the island with a beer. Things were quiet and peaceful and Julie was content with the silence. Peyton went into the living room to watch TV while Nathan chewed on a teething cracker in his chair. Portman's phone rang and he looked at it quickly before answering it.

"Hey."

"What's up?" Fulton asked.

"Not much, just hanging out with Jules and the kids."

"So, Peyton and Nate are there."

"Yes," Portman said slowly.

"I figured she had invited you over to dinner so that she could charm the pants off of you."

"No way, it would be the other way around," he said with a laugh.

"You sound awfully sure of yourself for somebody who hasn't been out on a date in over a year."

"It can't be that hard, it's like riding a bike, right?"

"All joking aside, I'm glad that you're attempting to date again…Even if it is with one of our closest friends."

"I'm easing into it."

"Yeah right, I could tell that you had a thing for her the moment you met her," Fulton stated bluntly.

"I have a terrible poker face," Portman said with a sigh.

"Where's Jules now?"

"She's standing right in front of me."

"Who is that?" she asked, brushing garlic and basil infused butter onto a loaf of French bread.

"It's Fult."

Julie nodded before going back to what she was doing. Portman wrapped up the call then went to the refrigerator to grab another beer.

"What were the two of you talking about?"

"He was just busting my chops because I don't get out that much anymore," he said with a dismissive shrug.

"I guess we both needed a night of doing absolutely nothing."

"Thanks for inviting me over," he said giving her a lopsided grin.

"There is no one who I'd rather spend a lazy night with," she said with a smile of her own.

They had never had a problem being honest with each other. Fulton had always wondered why Portman had never made a move when they were younger. Portman could tell that Adam had his eyes on Julie from the first time he stood up to him for calling her Babe. Julie may have had no problems being frank with him, but Adam was the one that she'd had eyes for back then. Portman had bowed out gracefully, content to just be her friend.

No one had seen Adam's leaving coming, most of all Portman. What kind of person throws away the kind of life that Adam had? A beautiful wife and two amazing kids; that was enough make even the most cynical of men happy.

"Have you talked to Adam recently?"

"I talked to him when he dropped the kids off this morning."

"I meant really talked to him, without the kids around," Portman clarified.

"He came over a couple of weeks ago for dinner," she said looking down at her hands.

"And, what happened?"

"He's seeing a therapist, who has diagnosed him as being depressed and bipolar. His dad is bipolar, and Adam sees it as a huge blow to the stomach. He has spent his entire life trying not to be like his dad and now he can't run from it anymore," she said sadly.

"Is he on medication?"

"He is, he said that I didn't do anything to push him away, but I can't help thinking that I should have caught on to what was going on sooner," she said brushing her fingers over her eyes.

"Jules don't cry. This isn't a battle that you can help him fight; he hasn't to handle it on his own."

"There talking about letting him go at work because he's a liability. What if he forgets to take his medicine while he has the kids?" she asked, obviously scared.

"You can't worry about that. You're not his mother," Portman said with a shake of his head.

"That's just it; his mom wouldn't be able to remind him. She's in the early stages of Alzheimer's. He moved in with her so that he could take care of her, not the other way around."

"You need to talk to him, that's the only advice that I can give you," he said sympathetically.

"I know, thanks for listening," she said with a feeble smile.

"Anytime," he said patting her hand.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before putting the bread in the oven. It was good to talk about what was going on with Adam. She felt like she was struggling to keep her head above water most days. No one had warned her how hard being a single parent would be. Her family did what they could, but unlike Adam's parents they both worked and weren't able to get away. It wasn't easy to have her family in Maine and not be able to see them.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I miss my family, that's all," she said, her voice still weak.

"You have me, and the Ducks," he reminded her.

"I know, but it's not the same. Don't you miss your mom and sister?"

"All the time," he said with a nod.

She got the salad out of the refrigerator and brought it to the table before setting it. Nathan needed to be cleaned up and his diaper needed to be changed so she asked Portman to pull the pizzas and bread out when the timer went off before heading upstairs. Taking the baby upstairs would give her a few more minutes to collect herself. She didn't want to bring Portman down by talking about her problems. Granted, he had asked her about Adam, but she didn't have to tell him everything that she had told him, but it had felt so good to put a voice to the worries that kept her up at night.

XXXX

Charlie pulled into the parking garage across from Connie's building at a little after seven. He had driven straight through the night knowing that early in the morning was the best time to catch her at home. He crossed the street and nodded at the doorman who tipped his hat with a smile when he let him in. The concierge tried to stop him as he passed the front desk.

"I'd like to surprise her," Charlie said over his shoulder as he waited for the elevator.

"Very well Mr. Conway," the concierge said with no emotion.

Charlie bounced on the balls of his feet nervously, waiting for the elevator. The doors opened a minute after he had pressed the button and luckily no one was waiting to get on with him. When the doors opened on Connie's floor there was a couple waiting to go down. Charlie nodded politely at them as he brushed past them. Sweat formed on his brow and upper lip as he walked towards Connie's door at the end of the hall.

He knocked on her door, bracing himself for the line of questioning that would happen once she opened the door.

"Who is it?" she asked through the door.

"It's me."

The locked clicked and the bolt was unlatched within seconds before she threw open the door. She took him in, her eyes wide with astonishment.

"Can I come in?" he asked, laughing lightly.

"Sorry," she said stepping back.

He had enough time to close the door before she threw her arms around his neck and buried his face in his neck.

"I missed you too," he said, patting her back.

"Why aren't you at school?" she asked, her voice mumbled by his shirt.

"I resigned."

"You what?" she asked, pulling away to look him in the eye.

"I figured that the schools were just as nice here as they are in Minnesota," he said with a sheepish shrug.

"Are you serious?" she asked cautiously.

"I am dead serious."

"Oh my God," she said with a laugh before throwing herself at him once more.

He laughed before placing a kiss on her forehead. He had been worried that she wouldn't want him there. He should have known better than to think that she would be anything other than happy to see him.

"Would it be okay if I stay here until I can find a temporary job and have some money coming in so that I can find a place? I used all of my money to move here,"

"You don't need to worry about finding another place to stay. You don't know how many times I have come this close to asking you to come here," she said holding her fingers a centimeter apart.

"I would have dropped everything to be here."

"I know, but I would have felt guilty if you hadn't left on your own," she reasoned.

"What time to do you to be at the office?"

"Something told me to take the day off so I called less than twenty minutes ago to tell them that I wasn't coming in. I'm glad I listened," she said with a laugh.

"Me too," he said, laughing along with her.

He let her pull him to the bedroom and then push him onto the bed. He could worry about bringing his stuff in later. He didn't worry about someone stealing his things because they wouldn't go for much on the street. He was with Connie; that was all that mattered.

**AN2: It too****k me five**** days**** to write this chapter because I've had some problems with my knee. I wasn't able to sit for long****er**** than half an hour before it got uncomfortable. But I powered thr****ough and I got this done. I hope that all of you enjoyed it.**


	21. Meltdowns and Setups

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mighty Ducks.**

When had the role of parent and child gotten reversed? Adam thought back to the last time his mom had left the house without having a doctor's appointment without him. His brothers helped out when they could and their wives took turns staying with Audra when he worked but he was doing mostly everything himself. If she got worse he would have to take time off from work until he found someone to take care of her.

The kids played quietly in the living room while Adam made dinner. Audra was in the living room as well but Adam knew better than to expect her to look after the kids. The last time he had checked on them the kids were building something with Nathan's Lincoln Logs and his mom was knitting.

"No Baxter, don't hit that little girl!" Audra said sharply.

Adam was in the living room within seconds. Nathan had another Lincoln Log ready to throw at Peyton who was shielding her face with her hands. Adam took the toy from the baby then picked him up.

"Don't terrorize your sister Buddy," he said with a sigh.

"I think it's time the girl went home Jim," Audra said before clicking her tongue in dissaproval.

"Who's Jim, Dad?"

"Jim is Pop's real name. Why don't you go wash up for dinner?"

Adam carried Nathan to the kitchen where he placed the baby in his high chair. He went to the cabinet by the refrigerator and grabbed his mom's medication. He shook one of the pills out of the bottle before grabbing a glass from the drying rack by the sink. He filled the glass with water then carried it into the living room. He held the pill out to his mom who hook her head stubbornly.

"Mom, you need to take it or you'll get worse. I don't like what happens if you don't take your meds any more than you do."

"I'm not your mother Jim Banks so don't call me that," she answered bitterly, her lips forming a hard line.

"I'm not dad Mom, I'm Adam. Please take this," he pleaded.

"No," she said stubbornly.

"Daddy, I'm done," Peyton said from the arch of the living room.

"That's good baby, go on into the kitchen. I'll be right there."

He waited until Peyton was out of sight before getting his mom's special medication from the top of the hall closet. He readied the syringe before tying a band just above Audra's elbow. She started to fight him when she saw the needle. He held her down with one arm, using his other hand to tap her elbow to draw up a vein. He inserted the needle in her arm and pressed the top of the syringe to release the medicine.

Audra cried out in shock when Adam finally let go of her. He didn't like being the bad guy but sometimes it was the only way that he could get her to do what he needed. He shoved his hands through his hair with a heavy sigh then put the bag of medicine and needles back where they belonged.

He took a few calming breaths before going into the kitchen. Peyton was sitting at the table waiting patiently. Adam made her a plate then heated up some baby food for Nathan.

"Where's Noni?" Peyton asked in between bites of food.

"She's sleeping."

They ate dinner quietly and once they finished Peyton helped Adam clean the kitchen and he got Nathan ready for bed after settling Peyton down with a movie. He checked on his mom and she was sleeping peacfully where he had left her. He covered her with the afghan from the back of the couch then left her alone once more. He didn't know how much more he could take.

XXXX

After working non-stop for nearly a month Julie was looking forward to having a weekend with nothing to do. Her boss had been so impressed by the work that she'd done on the Dasani campaign that she'd recieved a raise. She was well on her way to getting a promotion. She was due for a little R and R.

She had so much that she wanted to that she didn't what to do first. She knew that she should get the cleaning out of the way so that the rest of the weekend could be free to do whatever she pleased.

She was moping the kitchen when her phone rang. She slid across the counter so that she wouldn't have to mess up the floor.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Sara answered back.

"What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner with me and Fulton tonight."

"Wouldn't I be the third wheel?"

"No, since a few other people are coming," Sara said sarcastically.

"Who else is coming?"

"Guy and his new girlfriend and Portman."

"What time should I be there?"

"Is seven okay?"

"That'll work."

"Great, because it's not every night that I can talk Guy into going out to dinner at a restaurant that he doesn't own," Sara said with a light laugh.

Julie finished moping the kitchen then went to get ready. By the time she was ready to go it was almost six-thirty. Sara had texted her to tell her where they were going and Julie promised that she would meet them there.

She got to the restaurant ten minutes early so she decided to wait by the desk for everyone else. Portman showed up a few minutes later and she was glad because she was tired of people staring at her just because she was alone. He sat down next to her and they talked quietly until Julie's phone vibrated. Portman's phone rang before she could retrieve her phone from her purse.

Can't make it tonight. Maybe some other time?-Guy

"I'll let her know," Portman said before ending his call.

"Guy can't make it."

"Fulton's sick, he was fine when I talked to him earlier," he said with a shake of his head.

Their friends had set them up on a date without them knowing it.

"I'll go see if I can get us a table," he said before walking to the podium manned by a waitress.

He came back a minute later and let her know that someone had made a reservation in his name that morning.

"You think that we can manage to go out on a date without them?" he asked.

"We wouldn't want to waste a perfectly good night," she asid as she stood to follow the hostess through the restaurant.

Julie decided right then that Fulton, Sara, and Guy were her saviors. They had broken the ice that she and Portman had been skating on for the past several weeks. They had flirted to the point of exhaustion and if she was honest with herself she was days away from asking Portman out, they had saved her a lot of stress. She was going to thank them when she saw them again.

The night passed by too quickly for Portman's liking. He stood at Julie's car where they had left it at the restaurant when they decided to go to the movies and then for a walk. They were both stalling to draw out their time together.

"Do you want to come to my house?" Julie asked from underneath her lashes.

"Are you sure?" he asked, not wanting to pressure her.

"I'm sure. Just don't expect anything to happen. I am still a married woman after all," she said ruefully.

"I'll be on my best behavior," he said putting two fingers over his heart with a lopsided grin.

"Uh huh, I'll believe that when I see it," she chided.

He opened her door for her and she started the car and let it warm up while waiting for him to get to his car. He followed her to the house and once there she poured herself a glass of wine and grabbed him a beer. They sat on the couch with the radio turned down low as they talked. They got quiet as Berlin's Take My Breath Away came on.

"Is this still your favorite song?" he questioned.

She nodded; smiling wistfully as she remembered a night long ago. Portman didn't let his quard down very often but with the help of some Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill he and Julie had gotten more candid than she would have liked during a snow storm their senior year.

He stood then held out a hand for her to take. She slipped her hand into his and let him pull her to him. They crossed the room so that they had more room before she wrapped her arms around his neck. They swayed to the music not breaking eye contact. At least this time they were fully clothed. Clorthes or not she could feel heat radiating off of him.

"This is the best make out song ever," he stated.

"Maybe it is, but you're not going to charm me with your smooth talk," she said with a coy smile.

He chuckled with a shake of his head. They had said the same thing at eighteen. He liked to think that he had more of a chance with her now than he had then. She'd been with Adam then and the three bottles of cheap wine they had consumed had loosened her tongue and made her forget her troubles for one night.

She smiled wistfully, thankful for a second chance to rebuild their friendship. She never would have guessed six months ago that they would be together like this. They had both had their hearts broken and she was still picking up the pieces while he felt that he was ready to move on. He would wait patiently for her but he wouldn't let her get away like he had last time.

XXXX

After spending more time on the internet filling out job applications than he would have liked Charlie finally heard back from a temp agency that was looking for someone. Most of the work would be sporadic for a while but it would have to do until he heard back from the schools that he had sent his resume to.

Charlie walked into the building that he would be working at for the next few weeks. He took in his surroundings as he stepped off the elevator. The offices were small and the center of the room was lined with three rows of six cubicals. There was a desk off to the side with a plaque that read information.

He sat in one of the chairs next to the information desk and waited for the person to come back. After a few minutes a short middle aged woman came up to him.

"Are you Charlie Conway?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Gertrude Lowenstein, you can come with me," she said as she led they way through the midlde row of cubicals.

She showed him how to use the computer and explained the entry data system to him before letting him work on his own. The people didn't acknowledge him as he got started. So far so good.

XXXX

Julie let Peyton unlock and open the door since she had her hands full with Nathan, her briefcase, his diaper bag and Peyton's overnight bag. Once inside she set the bags and her briefcase down just inside the door and pulled the mail from between her teeth.

She placed Nate on the floor in the living room and he crawled towards the play area where Peyton was already playing. She was looking through the mail when she saw something from her lawyer. It was a thick manilla envelope. She opened the prongs then slid her nail underneath the flap and pulled it open.

Inside were two copies of hers and Adams divorce agreement for her to sign. Once they were signed and she had dropped them off she would officially be single for the first time in twelve years. She slid the papers back into the envelope with a heavy sigh.

After having Portman spend the weekend with her she had felt like nothing could bring her down. At least now she could move on with her life without feeling guilty or worrying about hurting Adam.

XXXX

With only a few days until Thanksgiving Sara had decided to host Thanksgiving dinner. All of the Ducks who still lived in Minnesota were coming and Julie had offered to help cook dinner. On Thursday Julie got to Fulton and Sara's early and Fulton's mom offered to watch Peyton and Nathan for her.

Julie found Sara going over a to-do list at the island when she walked into the kitchen. Sara raked a hand through her hair nervously.

"I may have bitten off more than I can chew," she said in concern.

"I'm here to help. Give me a job and I'll get started."

"Start looking through the phone book and find a catering company that's available. No amount of money is too much," she said exhailing loudly.

"What about all the food you bought?"

"I'm sure that I can find a soup kitchen to donate it to."

"Hand me the list," Julie said holding out her hand.

Julie looked over the list, her eyes widening at the idea of Sara wanting so much to be done.

"Mayb we can get some extra help."

"How?"

"I'll ask Fulton to watch the kids so his mom can help. When are your parents getting here?"

"Not until noon."

"Call and ask your mom to come early."

"I don't think she'll mind."

Julie got the turkey out of the sink and got it ready to into the oven. Once that was done she prepped the vegetables and stuffing while Sara peeled potatoes to make mashed potatoes. Fulton's mom cleaned the dining room and had set the table by the time Sara's mom Elizabeth got there twenty minutes later.

Fulton's mom, Nadia and Elizabeth worked on the stuffing and roasted vegetables while Julie took care of the poatoes and desert, luckily it was only a few frozen pies and cranberry sauce. That left Sara with the turkey and sweet potato casserole.

People started arriving as they were finishing with dinner. Julie, Nadia, and Elizabeth brought the food into the dining room while Sara greeted everyone as they came in. Portman passed Nadia in the hall as she was carrying the turkey into the dining room.

"Let me take that for you," he said once he set down the bottle of wine that he had brought.

"Thanks, Dean," Nadia said with a pleased smile.

Once the turkey was on the table he took the wine into the kitchen. He nearly collided with Julie who was carrying the green bean casserole that Sara had made at the last minute.

"Hey," she said with a breathless laugh.

"You need me to take that?"

"I've got it, thanks though," she said before brushing past him.

Five minutes later everyone was sitting down to dinner. Elizabeth suggested that everyone say one thing that they were thankful for. They even let the kids say something even though they were sitting at a different table. When it was Peyton's turn she stood up.

"I'm thankful that my daddy is helping my Noni to get better," she said quietly.

"That's very good sweetheart," Nadia praised.

It wasn't long before it was Julie's turn.

"I'm thankful for my friends and family," she said with a grateful smile.

Sarah, who sat next to Julie took Julie's closest hand in hers and gave it a tight squeeze. The last person to go had come with Guy. Nadia suggested that she tell everyone her name first since not everyone knew her.

"My name is Sky, and I'm thankful that Sara and Fulton didn't mind having an uninvited guest come today," she said with a nervous laugh.

There was an audible sqeak from the opposite end of the table and Julie, Portman, and Sara looked at Averman in confusion.

"Take it easy, Eugene; I'm not the girl I was fifteen years ago," Sky said with a sigh and an eye roll.

Sara said grace then the food was passed around. Portman and Julie's fingers brushed as he handed her the bowl of mashed potatoes. Their eyes met briefly and she smiled quickly before taking the bowl from him. They had done a lot of talking the previous weekend and they both agreed that it would be best to wait until her divorce was finalized before deciding if they should take their friendship to the next level. Did she want to date him? A part of her would always wonder what might have been if they didn't at least try. When she thought back on her teenage years she had always known that there was something between them that couldn't be explained.


	22. Suprises and Revelations

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks. I am just sharing my love of all things Charlie, Portman, and Adam with all of you.**

**AN: This story will be wrapped up in the next two chapters.**

"Are you sure that we shouldn't have called first?" Charlie asked Connie.

It was before seven on a Friday morning and Julie's house was dark in the early morning sunlight.

"It'll be fine. If she has a problem with it just give her your puppy dog look; no one can say no to this face," she said in baby talk as she patted his cheek lightly.

They knocked but didn't hear anything. Charlie raised his hand to knock again but Connie stopped him. She pulled her keys out of her purse and sifted through them until she found the one she wanted. She slid the key into the deadbolt then the knob. They entered the house quietly, thankful that Julie didn't have an alarm system.

They were half way up the stairs when a door opened in the hallway above them. They stopped in their tracks, holding their breath, saying a silent prayer that it was Julie's and not Peyton's footfalls padding down the hall. Peyton came to stand at the top of the stairs, rubbing sleep from her eyes with a yawn a few seconds later.

"Peyton-" Charlie cautioned.

"Oh, no," Connie groaned.

Peyton's voice rang out through the house loud enough to wake the dead. It wasn't Charlie's fault for not konwing that she was easily scared. Julie's door swung open and she came out of her room in Mama Bear mode.

"Peyt, what's wrong?" she asked kneeling down to Peyton's level.

Peyton pointed down the stairs to where Connie was hiding behind Charlie who gave Julie an apologetic look. Julie sighed as she picked up a still shaken Peyton. Charlie and Connie let them pass. Nate could be heard in his room so Connie nudged Charlie and jerked her head towards the noise before heading downstairs.

Charlie climbed the last few stairs with trepidation. Nate would more than likely need to be changed, something Charlie knew nothing about. Nate's door was cracked and Charlie could see that Nate had gotten woken up by his sisters fit of terror.

He pushed open the door and Nate stopped crying almost immediately. He had seen Adam and Julie change the kids diapers a few times, he felt confident that he could do it...as long as Nate stayed still; which Charlie didn't plan on happening. He picked Nate up from the crib and held him at arms length to the changing table. He got him out of his wet night clothes with no trouble and was able to figure out how to fix a clean diaper on him but the baby would need clothes to wear...which were in the dresser in the corner.

"Stay there," Charlie warned before going to the dresser.

"He's not a dog Charlie, and you should never leave a baby unsupervised," Julie reprimanded gently.

"You can tell that I've never done this, right?" he asked sheepishly.

"You were doing pretty good until you left my eleven month old alone on the changing table," she praised.

Charlie opened drawers trying to find a shirt and pair of pants for Nate while Julie stood next to the changing table.

"Lets see how well you do with getting him dressed," she said disearningly.

Charlie scoffed as he slipped the shirt over Nate's head. The baby squirmed and gurgled while Charlie put his arms in the proper holes. He laid the baby down gently after pulling his shirt down, he stared at the snaps on the onesie in confusion.

"Don't hesitate, that gives him the upper hand. It's just like buttoning a shirt," Julie encouraged him.

Charlie followed her adivce all the while Nate kicked his legs like he was riding a bike. Charlie heaved a sigh of relief when he snapped the last button. He grabbed the pants from off the table and Julie stayed quiet.

"No," Nate protested when Charlie slippped one leg into the pants.

"This is least favorite part," Julie explained.

"Almost done big man," Charlie said, pulling the pants up Nate's chubby little legs.

Charlie heaved another sigh of relief when he was finished. Julie picked the baby up and he placed his head on her shoulder.

"Thank you Charlie, I always knew you had it in you," Julie said with a teasing smile.

Nate looked to Charlie giving a small smile. Charlie ruffled what little hair the baby had before heading downstairs. Connie and Peytone were in the kitchen and it was obvious to Charlie that Peyton was still mad at him.

"Do you have something to say to her?" Connie broached gently.

"I'm sorry for scaring you Peyton," he said kneeling down to the little girl's level.

She turned her nose up to him with a haughty humph in answer.

"Come on Peyt, you know you love me," he pleaded.

She shook her head, still not looking at him.

"I didn't want to have to do this, but you asked for it," he warned her.

He tickled her sides mercessly and she erupted into a fit of giggles. Julie came in, smiling at the scene.

"Okay, I forgive you," Peyton said, still laughing.

"Good, girl," Charlie praised.

Peyton settled down and Connie watched Charlie in awe. When had he gotten so good with kids? He'd been terrified at the thought of helping Jesse and Guy with their younger siblings. Terry had been easy compaired to his younger brother and sister Landon and Carly. Guy's younger brother Tyler was a special needs child who needed constant care to deal with his severe Downs Syndrome. The Charlie that Connie knew didn't have the paitence for kids that most people did.

"Have you eaten?" Julie asked.

"Swettie, we have been on the road since nine last night; I'm too tired to eat," Connie said with a sigh.

"I told you that you didn't have to stay up."

"It wouldn't have been right, I would have felt guilty," Connie answered with a shrug.

"I've got to head into the office but I can probably come home early. And it's kids weekend with Adam. I can tell him that he can keep them next weekend; he'll understand, but he will want to see you Charlie," Julie explained.

Charlie nodded, already plannning on spending time with Adam, Guy, Fulton, Jesse, and Averman while he was in town. Julie made breakfast after Connie and Charlie went upstairs. She got the kids out of the house with as little noise as possible. She'd deal with Adam later, she didn't want to deal with the guilt trip that he would give her right now.

XXXX

Adam hadn't expected Charlie to call him at work and invite him out on Saturday night. It was his weekend off and he would have the night free since Julie was keeping the kids until Wednesday. He wasn't happy having to shuffle his work schedual around but he hadn't complained because he didn't want Julie to think that he couldn't handle things.

Even with his weekly visits to his therapist and the medicine that he was on he felt that he was barely keeping his head above water. He threw himself into his work to keep his head on straight. The doubts and his dad's voice tended to pounce on him in the brief silence he allowed himself. He had started listening to books on CD at night as he drifted off to sleep so that he could sleep better.

The only time he could hold everything together was when he had the kids. They needed his full attention and he devoted all of his time to them; he didn't have time to worry about himself. When he wasn't worrying about himself he was worrying about his mom.

He was still waiting for the breakthrough that his therapist had promised him would come. What was stopping it from happening? He had been doing everything that the doctor had suggested short of taking time off from work. He needed to reprioritize things.

XXXX

Julie had nearly cancelled her date with Portman when Connie talked her out of it. Connie jumped at the chance to watch Peyton and Nathan.

"I want to do my Godmotherly duties. Do not deny me that," Connie warned Julie.

"Do you think that you can handle it? The last time you babysat for me it was only Peyton," Julie reminded her in a worried tone.

Connie folded her arms over her chest, giving Julie a look that could make the hardest of people crumble into submission. It was her 'don't mess with me because you will not win' look. Julie held up her hands in surrender and Connie smiled sweetly back at her.

"I want all the details when you get home."

"How much do I owe you?"

"You don't have to pay me, I love those two Munchkins almost as much as you do."

Julie nodded in agreement knowing that arguing with Connie was futile. She didn't consider it giving in, she thought of it as saving herself an argument and a migraine later.

Connie left the room and Julie was left with her thoughts. She was nervous about seeing Portman. They had been out on only one other date since her divorce had become final three weeks before. They were taking things slow and she could tell that he wanted more. It wasn't that she didn't want to give him what he wanted, she was scared out of her mind. She had no idea what she was doing and she didn't want to ruin their friendship.

Things with Adam had been so easy and carefree when they were younger. After Peyton was born they had settled down and he had joined the police force while Julie agreed that it would be best to stay home with Peyton until she started school. Nathan had been a suprise and hadn't been planned.

"Mom?" Peyton asked, breaking Julie from her reverie.

"Hmm?"

"Connie told me to tell you to get in the shower and stop acting like a pussy. What's a pussy?" she asked innocently.

"It's like being a scaredy cat sweetie," Julie said repressing the urge to laugh.

Julie found Connie in the living room playing with Nate.

"You need to put a dollar in the swear jar. Portman will be happy to know that he isn't the only one contributing to the kids summer vacation."

"Where are you taking them?"

"Adam wants to take them to Rome because he still has family there, I told him that I would pay for half because it's expensive."

"Ah," she said in realization.

"By the way, you're one who gets to tell her way the word pussy is bad, because if she says it again, I'm coming after you," Julie warned as she walked away.

"Yes ma'am!" Connie called.

Julie was in and out of the shower in less than ten minutes. Charlie was coming up the stairs when she opened the bathroom door and he told her to go and that he would wait until she was in her room to finish climbing the stairs. She dried her hair quickly then turned on her curling iron on and got dressed while it heated up. She chose a simple cream colored knee length halter dress with a light sweater over top of it. She found her black wedge sandles before going back to the curling iron. She curled her hair into loose, full curls then pulled the sides and her bangs back with a burette.

She applied very little makeup then grabbed her shoes before heading downstairs. She still had fifteen minutes before Portman was supposed to be there. Charlie was in the kitchen with Guy and Jesse and Connie and the kids were playing outside.

Portman let himself in and followed the noise of laughter. Jesse was juggling three oranges while Charlie threw grapes into his mouth. Guy cheered them on while Julie laughed at their antics. Presently, her head was thrown back in laughter while Charlie tried to psych Jesse out. Jesse was determined not to lose his concentration.

"Hey Guy, did you hear the joke about the nun and the prostitute?"

"Hey, that's my joke!" Jesse protested.

The oranges fell to the floor and Charlie raised his arms in victory. Jesse glared at Charlie who smiled smugly as the back door opened.

"Saved by the five year old and the baby," Guy taunted Charlie.

Portman cleared his throat, not able to hide his smile. Julie looked over her shoulder smiling in greeting.

"Okay Peyt, say bye to Mama," Connie said.

"Bye to Mama," Peyton said hugging Julie's legs.

She pulled away then Guy helped her onto the stool next to him. Connie held Nate out to Julie and she hugged him then kissed his forehead.

"Ready to go?" Portman asked.

"Lets go," Julie said in agreement.

"See you guys later," Portman called over his shoulder.

Portman opened Julie's door for her and helped her into the car. He turned towards her, taking her in.

"You know what's great about dating once you're over the age of twenty one?"

"We get to get drunk if we want?" Julie questioned.

"There is that, but I was thinking about the fact that there won't be anyone waiting up when I drop you off. No parents, no roomate, we don't have to answer to anyone."

"I've never had that happen before. The babysitter was waiting by the door when you dropped me off last time."

He shook his head with a chuckle knowing that Connie would more than likely be asleep when he dropped Julie off. He was glad that Julie hadn't cancelled or changed their plans just because Connie and Charlie were in town. All of the ducks that were in town had been invited to Jesse's for a cookout the next night before Connie and Charlie left on Monday.

He hadn't planned anything to extravegant for them. They were going to get some dinner and then go to see a friend of his band play at a bar Main Street. He liked that she didn't expect over done gestures everytime they went out. He had always felt comfortable being himself around her.

They decided on a Mexican restaurant that Julie swore made the best margarita's he would ever have.

"They have like twenty different flavors and I've tried half of them," she admitted.

"Any suggestions?"

"My favorite is the Strawberry Bomb. It's a cross between a Pina Colatta and a Strawberry Daquari. It's a girly drink. They have great beer too," she promised him.

"Now you're talkin'" he said as he pulled into the parking lot.

The waiter took their drink orders and they talked over the noise. The room was crowded because there was a birthday party going on that took up half the room. There was a Mariachi band performing on a small stage behind their booth.

"Is it usually this crowded?"

"The last couple of times I've come I've had to wait for a table. We got lucky that we were seated as soon as we came in," she answered as she dunked a chip into the bowl of salsa that was in between them.

The waiter brought their drinks and asked if they were ready to order dinner. Julie shut her menu the same time Portman did. He gestured for her to go first.

"I'll have the Chalupa platter."

"And I'll have the Steak Quesadilla's."

"Would you like another beer Sir?" the waiter asked gesturing to Portman's half empty bottle.

"Not yet."

Portman eyed Julie's drink in scrutiny. The glass was as big around as a basket ball and as deep as a cereal bowl.

"Are you going to drink all of that?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes, but you might have to help me to the door when you drop me off," she said with a laugh.

"I can handle that."

"Do you want to try it?"

"No, I'm good," he said quickly.

"Chicken," she taunted.

She made clucking noises just loud enough for him to hear until he caved and grabbed hold of the straw. He puckered his lips in disgust but swallowed the drink anyway.

"It's not for you?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Why don't you just eat a bowl of sugar? It would be less sweet than that," he said with a grimace.

"I don't have it very often, plus once you've had one, you're immune to how sweet it is," she said with a throaty laugh.

They talked through dinner and by the time they got to the bar they were both buzzed. They had left his car at the restaurant and had called a cab, he'd get his car in the morning.

"What kind of band is this?"

"It's a punk band."

"Like Green Day and Blink 182?"

"More Green Day than Blink 182."

"Great. I'm so gonna regret this in the morning, but I don't care," she said with a laugh.

"That a girl," Portman praised her as he handed her a beer.

He put an arm around her, resting his hand on her hip before leading her ot the back of the bar. The band was known for playing their music as loud as it would go and he didn't want to traumitize her.

The band was running through a soundcheck when Julie's phone rang. She looked down at her phone realizing that it was her mom. She went outside to drown out the noise before answering. She had a few questions about Christmas since Julie had promised that she would come to Maine to celebrate with her family. As she was getting off the phone she saw Adam coming out of the drugstore across the street. She waved him over as she slid her phone into her pocket.

Adam stood in front of Julie with his hands stuffed into his pockets, shuffling from foot to foot to ward off the cold.

"Why aren't you wearing a jacket?" Julie asked in concern.

"Why aren't you at home with the kids?" he countered.

"Because she's here with me," Portman answered from behind Julie.

Adam sighed, looking uncomfortable. Julie watched Adam's reaction. She felt bad for making him come over. She had only wanted to let him know that she would drop Nate off before going in to work that week because he had to take his mom to the doctor that morning.

"That's fine," Adam agreed with a nod.

"Are you okay?" Julie asked with concern.

"Not really," he ansswered honestly.

"There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you," Jesse said from the door of the bar next door.

Adam held up the pack of cigarettes that he had just bought. Portman pulled gently on Julie's elbow and she followed him inside. She cast one last look over her shoulder to see Adam drag a hand through his hair. She never should have waved him over.

Portman knew the mood of the night had shifted after Julie's run in with Adam. She had been up front with Adam that she and Portman were trying to start a relationship. Adam had't been happy about it; he didn't want someone taking his place.

"I'm gonna call a cab. I should get you home," he said regretfully.

"No, don't let Adam ruin our night," she argued.

"It's a little late for that," he said pulling his phone from his jeans.

The cab arrived twenty minutes later and the ride to Julie's was silent.

"Do you want to stay here?"

"No, I'll see you tomorrow."

Portman watched her until she was inside. He gave the driver his address then fell against the seat. He should have taken Julie up on her offer. He was fighting an inner battle with his heart. He was slowly starting to fall in love with Julie. The last time he had given his heart to someone it had taken him over two years to get himself back on track. He didn't want to rush things, but he was falling fast.


	23. Good Advice

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks.**

The phone ringing at three a.m. jolted Charlie awake. Connie groaned from next to him before burying her head beneath her pillow. Charlie blindly reached for his phone then pulled it from it's charging dock. He stared at it through blurry eeyes, barely making out that it was Adam. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and crossed the room in four strides. He closed the door behind him and answered the phone on the third ring.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"I can talk to you and do paperwork at the same time," Adam promised.

"You know that I start my sub teaching job tomorrow, right?"

"Shit, I forgot," he said with a sigh.

"It's not like you to call in the middle of the night. What's bothering you?"

"So much that I don't know where to begin. Karp got brought in tonight, he got into a fight at some bar and the other guy was taken to the hospital. He didn't like that I was the one brought in to question him."

"He never did like you."

"I've been labeled 'Officer Cakeeater'. A whole cell block chanted that for a good five minutes before I was able to get them settled down. The Fucker loved every minute of it," Adam said with a growl.

"What else is wrong?"

"Julie and Portman made things official. She called me the other day and we talked about it."

"Dean's not a bad guy. Everybody thought that he was better suited for her when we were younger, remember?"

"Yeah, it still pisses me off," he said bitterly.

"It shouldn't. You had twelve amazing years with Jules and you have two kids together. She must have liked you a little to stay with you for that long," he teased.

"I guess you're right," Adam answered gruffly.

They talked for another ten minutes before Charlie went back to bed. Connie was sitting up in bed.

"Twenty minutes? It must have been an important call," she wondered out loud.

"Adam needed his best friend," he said as he climbed back into bed.

"What's going on?"

"He had a problem at work that he wanted to vent about. Julie and Portman are together and I didn't make things better by reminding him that Portman had a thing for Julie before he started dating her."

"Good job Spazway," she said patting him on the back.

He fell back against the pillows with a grunt. He felt bad for Adam, he wished that they didn't live nearly a thousand miles apart. Leaving Adam to his own devices when he needed him the most hadn't been easy. Adam had always had a support system to lean on, now that he was the one taking care of his mom virtually on his own he felt like he was floundering. Charlie and Adam talked daily and Charlie felt relief knowing that as bad as it was, things were getting better for Adam. He was going to his therapist regularly and the medication he was on was working.

XXXX

Julie stood at the gate with Nathan on her hip. She tried to eplain to Peyton that she was going to New York for work but she didn't think the message had registered. Peyton was giving her the silent treatment. Sara sat with her by the bank of windows. Julie held Nate to her, kissing his pudgy cheek. He gurbled in response and she smiled at him.

Her flight was called and she handed Nathan off to Sara and knelt in front of Peyton. Peyton's tear filled eyes met hers and Julie sighed. If this was how it was going to be everytime she went away on business than Peyton had another thing coming.

"I need you to help Sara and Fulton with your brother," she said calmly.

"She's never any trouble," Sara interjected.

"It's different this time. Come on Peyt, I don't want to leave with you made at me," Julie pleaded.

Peyton gave her mother a sad look before wiping her eyes. Julie reached out to her and Peyton stood to wrap her arms around her mom. Julie held her tight, heaving a silent sigh of relief. She hadn't planned on Peyton to react the way she did; she'd plan something special for just the two of them when she got back. She pulled away when the final boarding call was announced.

"Thank you for keeping them."

"You're welcome. Don't worry about a thing," Sara said with a smile.

Julie grabbed her bag and headed towards the gate. She didn't look back. Once on the plane she settled into her seat. She didn't see the next two weeks as a vacation. She was going to New York then California to negotiate a deal with two of the biggest companies in the world. She was also coming up with a marketing campaign for Connie's summer and fall lines. She was grateful for the chance to prove herself. If these contacts fell through it would be all on her but she had confidence in herself.

XXXX

Julie had only been in New York for a couple of hours but Connie and Charlie had already made her feel at home. Charlie was grading papers while Connie worked on a sketch in the living room. Julie sat with Connie contenet to just sit with her best friend.

"What do you think?" Connie asked, holding out the tablet for Julie to look at.

It was a thick strapped, bodice hugging, white and cream colored dress with a gauzy, billowy skirt that fell to the models knees. It was simple, yet feminine.

"It's pretty," Julie said with a small smile.

"I'm thinking of making a few wedding dresses for my summer line."

"Well, if I ever get married again I'll take one."

"Yours would be one of a kind," Connie promised.

"Even better."

"How have you been? I haven't talked to you since I saw you last."

"I'm okay, things are pretty crazy at work, they alway are. Adam and I aren't seeing eye to eye right now, but what else is new? He thinks that Dean's going to take his place, which is crazy," Julie said with a frustrated sigh.

"I can see where he's coming from. When my dad got remarried my stepmom changed. She was nice and friendly while they were dating but once they got married she turned into a freaking drill sergent. That's why I never went over there. Portman's had a couple of stepdad's and he probably has a few stories of his own."

"I wouldn't know. My parents have been married for nearly forty years."

"That long?" Connie asked, suprised.

"My oldest brother Cory is thirty-eight, Margarette is thirty-four and Jason is thirty." Julie said with a nod.

"Can you imagine being married that long?" Connie marvelled.

"It hasn't always been easy. I left home to go to Eden Hall the same year my sister got married. Less than two months after she got married married my parents drove me to Minnesota. Jason stayed close to home for college then moved back in with them until he got married last year," Julie explained.

"Can you see yourself marrying Portman?"

"I don't know, everything is still new," she answered with a shaky laugh.

"I think that he'd make a great stepdad. And if you act soon enough, you can still have more kids."

"It's too soon to be thinking about that. We've only been on a handful of dates; two technically since we started dating."

"Tell me what you think of him," Connie implored.

"He's nice, understanding and patient. Not exactly three words that I would have used to describe him ten years ago."

"He grew up, people change," Connie said, encouraging her to keep going.

"He's sweet and funny. Peyton and Nate are starting to grow attatched to him."

"Kids are great judges of character."

"As much as he's changed, I still see him the way he was when went to school together."

"I've always thought that he was cute," Connie said with a coy smile.

"I heard that," Charlie called from the dining room a few feet away.

"I love you," Connie called over her shoulder.

"You too," Charlie said looking up briefly from the paper he was grading.

Never in a million years would Julie have thought that Connie and Charlie would end up together. It went to show that opposites sometimes really did attract.

**AN: Sorry this is so short. Sometimes it's best to keep things short and sweet. Let me know what you guys think.**


	24. Betting on Forever

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks. Although it would be nice to recieve a certain floppy haired enforcer who's name rhymes with Keane Fortman for my birthday...which is coming up in a few weeks. Also I do not own Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, although I wish I did...That would be pretty awesome. I also do not own Coccoa Puffs cereal, but I do eat it occasionally. For the record I happen to love every name that is thrown out in a certain part of this chapter, so no hatemail if your name is used.**

**AN: I cannot believe that it has taken me four years to finish this story. When I started this story my sister's youngest son was a toddler and now he's recently started the first grade. My opinions on this story have changed since I started it. I'm still not crazy about how it started but it is what it is. But I can promise you that this story is going to finish strong. My apologies for drawing this out so long.**

_Two Years Later_

Looking back on his life Adam realized that he had lived the first quarter of his life the wrong way. He had done what was expected of him and hadn't done anything for himself. At thirty he fnally felt comfortable in his own skin. He was finally off medication so his head was clear and he could make rational decisions.

The first decision he'd made was to put his mother in a hospice. He was the only one taking care of her most of the time and when the last live-in nurse quit because his mom was hard to control he knew he didn't have any other choice. The second things he'd done was quit his job and start his own private investigative business. He made his own hours and work was sporadic at first but had started to pick up as of late.

He was finally in control of his life. The only thing he regretted was hurting Julie in the process. They were friends now and he didn't have a single problem with Portman. He could see that they made each other happy and after two years of dating he was starting to wonder if Julie wouldn't be coming to him to have a talk about remarrying soon.

His relationship with Peyton and Nathan was stronger than ever. At eight and three they were at an age when they needed both of their parents. He saw them a lot more than he had when he and Julie had first divorced. He'd moved closer to town when Julie had moved in with Portman after six months of dating so that he could be closer to the kids.

His love life was pretty much nonexistant but he was okay with that. He had gone on a few dates but nothing had panned out. He was content to be alone for now, he was still young so he wasn't going to close himself off to the idea of it ever happening.

He still called Charlie at least once a week.. Charlie had a life of his own and Adam didn't want to disrupt it anymore than he had to. Charlie was going to be a dad in a month. He and Connie had a unconventional relationship where they did everything backwards but it worked for them. They both thrived off of chaos and lived fast paced lives so living in New York suited them.

Adam had take over Fulton's coaching possition when he moved to Texas for work. Months would go by without a word from him and then out of the blue he would call and they would end up talking for half an hour. Fulton, like Adam was a man of few words and that was never going to change.

Guy and Sky had surprised everyone and gotten married after only dating for six months. Their son Myles was almost one and marriage and fatherhood agreed with Guy. He was still managing Antabellum but he'd sold his other restaurant to the manager. He worked at the skate shop on the weekends, happy to still have the group of friends that he had.

Adam considered himself lucky to have the second chance he'd been given. He refused to go back to the person he used to be.

XXXX

Julie Gaffney's life was good. She had two loving, caring, precious children who had been through a lot in their short lives. She had an amazing boyfriend who always put her first after his work. She had worked her way up the ranks to achieve something very few people had done in only three years. She was now the vice president of her ad agency. She worked hard and had the option of working from home unless she had meetings with clients.

She had learned a lot of things about herself in the two years she had been dating Portman. It's okay to move fast sometimes but you have to know when to put on the brakes. Loving him wasn't easy at times. He could be a pain in the ass sometimes and he had a certain way he liked things to be done; but she knew that she wasn't perfect. They made things work because that was what you did when you loved someone. Little did she know that he had something up his sleeve.

Portman wasn't the type to overthink things. He was used to making lightning fast decisions and worrying about the outcome later. He had spent the last two hours shopping for Julie's birthday present when he finally found what he wanted. Sometimes it was good to take your time to decide on something, it made the moment mean more. He knew Julie would love it.

He wasn't the type of guy who showed his emotions well. He wasn't a drama king like Charlie or as in touch with what women wanted as Guy. He, Fulton, and Adam all fell into the same category. They were awkward, bumbling idiots when it came to professing their love.

He had been ready for this for a while but he had wanted to make sure that Julie was more than ready. It had taken them a while to get used to things since he had never lived with anyone outside of his family, except when he went to Eden Hall and college. It had been a huge adjustment for him but Julie and the kids had been patient. Everything was almost ready so he wouldn't have to sweat much longer.

Julie's birthday was less than a week away. Her family was coming in since they hadn't seen Julie or the kids since Julie got her job promotion a year before but Portman had something planned for them that night. Julie hated surprises but he felt that this was worth it.

XXXX

Charlie came home to find Connie asleep on the couch with a sketch pad resting on her protruding stomach. After a day teaching the upper East Side most elite's children for nine hours he was ready for a night of nothing to do.

If one more kid asked him if he knew who their parents were he was going to ask them if they knew who he was. The kids at Masterson Prep were a hundred times more snobbish than his students at Eden Hall. None of them had any respect for him. The son of one of the countries most well known baseball players had told him to go fuck himself when he'd told him that he was giving him an incomplete on an assignment that was already a week late today.

He'd stayed after to grade papers so that he could spend his time at home with Connie. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed with her and shut out the rest of the world. He gently moved the book of her before scooping her up. She stirred with a groan and a sigh.

"Falling asleep on the couch was a bad idea," she said with a wince.

"I'll take care of it," he promised as he placed her gingerly on the bed.

"Will you go and get the ice cream out of the freezer?"

"Be right back."

He groaned when he found a pint of Ben and Jerry's Cotton Candy ice cream. He didn't see how Connie could eat it. She smiled graciously when he held it out to her.

"Is it your lower back again?"

"Mmhmm," she answered around a mouthful of ice cream.

"Who did you talk into going all the way to First Street to get you ice cream?"

"Salvatore was going that way anyway."

"How's she doing?"

"She's sleeping," she said with a smile, rubbing her stomach affectionately.

One of Charlie's arms snaked around her side to cover hers. She had been on bed rest for three weeks with another five to go. She had been working herself ragged so she hadn't been able to keep the weight that she was gaining on. She'd come up with the idea for a maternity/baby line and Charlie found wadded balls of paper and finished sketches everywhere.

"Who's turn is it to look through the book?" he asked.

"Mine," she said grabbing the baby name book from her nightstand.

They would take turns going through the book at least once a day. So far Charlie had shot down Adalaide Rose and Sophia Jade; which were better than Amelia Caroline and Scarlett Samantha which he liked.

"Georgia Nicole?"

"No," he said thoughfully.

She handed him the book with a frustrated growl. They had been through the entire book almost and they couldn't agree on anything. He wanted something traditional while she wanted something unique.

"I think I've found something that you might like. I just have to find a middle name."

"Don't hold your breath," she mumbled.

"Aeryn Reese."

"Erin? You actually thought I would like that?" she asked with a scoff.

"Don't you want to know how it's spelled?"

"I'm pregnant, not stupid Charlie," she said darkly.

"A-E-R-Y-N," he said smugly.

She opened her mouth to say something then closed it again. She was silent for a minute before leaning against him. Technically, they would both get what they wanted. The name was traditional but it was uniquely spelled.

"I always knew you were smart," she said with a sigh.

He rested his chin on her shoulder and saw the offensive ice cream on her nightstand. He reached for it and spooned a small amount into his mouth. He swallowed slowly as Connie watched him with a humorous look.

"It's even nastier than I thought it would be," he said after a few seconds of silence.

She shook her head with a light laugh as he put the container back on the nightstand. Charlie had never had much of a sweet tooth but he was always willing to try whatever she brought home. She'd had some pretty weird cravings during her pregnancy. He'd had to spend an hour finding an all night convience store because she'd had a craving for Cocoa Puffs the week before. He never complained, but he did find it a little daunting when her demands were a little extreme.

XXXX

Julie had no idea what Portman was planning. He'd been vague when he asked her to meet him at her favorite Italian Bistro after work. She arrived a few minutes early to find that he was already there. She was lead to an empty back room where Portman sat at a corner table. She sat across from him, eyeing him scrutinizingly.

"What?" he asked with a laugh.

"I thought you had asked me to come here because you were throwing me a surprise party," she said with a bashful laugh.

"You expect to have two birthday parties? You're turning thirty-one, not twenty-one," he reminded her playfully.

"Then what are we doing here?"

"I wanted some time alone with you before your family comes in tomorrow."

"I can't argue with that."

They ordered dinner and he opened the bottle of wine that was chilling in a bucket beside the table. He held her flute under the table as he poured and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Something at the bottom caught her attention as he held it out to her.

"Dean," she whispered at the sight of the ring.

"You know that I'm not good at telling you how I feel but I want you to hear me out. I never thought that I would get engaged again and then when we started talking again it felt like nothing had changed. You're still the first person I come to if I have good news or if I've had a bad day. You care for me so much that sometimes I wonder how you have love for anyone else; but you do. I let you get away from me once and I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. Juliette Danielle Gaffney, will you marry me?"

"Yes, I will; if you promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Don't ever call me Juliette again; you know I hate it, but I'll let it slide just this once," she said looking at him from under her lashes.

He fished the ring out of her glass and dried it off before slipping it on her finger. She laughed breathlessly as she stared at it. It was a single three carat diamond with a white gold band. It was simple even if the diamond was on the large side. She looked up to see him watching her. She leaned across the table and he met her halfway. The kiss was brief since the waiter came back with their food. Once he was gone Julie leaned back in to rest her forehead to Portman's.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

He hadn't expected her to thank him but she rarely did what he expected her to do. The unassuming girl he had met eighteen years before had grown into an amazing, smart, self deprocating, strong woman. It had taken him a long time to realize that the person he was meant to spend the rest of his life with was right in front of him. Now that he had, he would spend the rest of his life showing her how much he loved her. He couldn't think of anything better.


End file.
